Renovation of Chadron State residence hall to begin soon

Fuller Construction of Chadron is the apparent low bidder to thoroughly modernize the residence hall for $4.275 million.

The original hall, named after the college's dean of women from 1917 through 1947, contains 39,111 square feet of floor space and was constructed in 1932. The Wing with 22,610 square feet was added to the west in 1959-60.

Six general contractors submitted bids on the project, which will be financed with revenue bonds that will be paid off by students who reside in the facility. Besides the structural work, new plumbing, heating and electrical systems will be installed. Air-conditioning will be added.

The project will convert the original portion of the dormitory into fashionable suite-style accommodations. A living room will be located between each bedroom and each bedroom will have a private bathroom.

The room configurations in the wing will remain unchanged with the occupants sharing bathrooms and showers that will be thoroughly renovated.

Under the new arrangements, the residence hall could accommodate about 200 students with double occupancy in the rooms. However, it is anticipated that many students will choose to live alone because a majority of them have never shared a bedroom with a sibling while living at home.

The renovation will begin in the wing, which is scheduled for completion by the opening of the 2004 fall term. Work on the older portion will begin this summer and be completed by the fall of 2005.

"The original building will be pretty well gutted and revamped," said Blair Brennan, CSC coordinator of physical facilities. "There will be less work done on the wing because it is much newer."

A handicapped-accessible elevator will be placed on the west side of the original structure, just to the north of the atrium that links the two structures.

Meanwhile, two more physical facilities projects are underway on campus and another will take place this spring.

Renovation of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning in the Administration Building is nearing completion. The $1.2 million project began in September 2002 with MAC Construction of Rapid City the general contractor.

The work has been completed on the upper two floors of the structure and is at least 50 percent complete on the first floor.

Eighty-five percent of the funding was provided by the Nebraska Task Force for Building Renewal. The remainder has been provided by the state's Capital Improvement Fund.

Also taking place is the project that will allow the college to use its wood-fired boiler to cool many of the buildings on campus.

A new 700-ton steam absorption chiller that is due to arrive in late January will be installed in a small building to be placed just to the east at the Eugene Sheaman Heating Plant. In preparation for the chiller's arrival, about 1,400 feet of large steel pipe has been placed in the tunnels that run from the heating plant to the buildings that will be cooled by the project.

Snell Services of North Platte holds the $1.3 million contract. The Task Force for Building Renewal is providing most of the funding. Interest earned on state capital funds is contributing $250,000, the Nebraska Department of Forestry $100,000 and the college is using $75,000 in contingency funds from its revenue bond account.

If the weather cooperates, ground work is expected to begin soon for constructing the Heritage Trail that is a component of the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center project. The college received a $270,569 transportation enhancement grant from the Nebraska Department of Roads to build the mile-long, eight-foot wide concrete trail.

The trail will begin on the west side of the campus and wind through the Thompson Natural History Preserve to the southwest. It will end on Maple Street near the City of Chadron water plant. The trail is intended to provide an alternative to traditional transportation corridors between the campus and south Chadron.

Fuller Construction has the contract for the trail.

Complete renovation of the Administration Building is Chadron State's top capital construction request as it looks to the future. It is expected that the project also will head the construction requests that will be submitted to the Legislature by the Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State Colleges for the 2006-07 biennium.

The renovation, estimated to cost $4.5 million, would convert the Administration Building completely into an academic facility made up of classrooms and faculty offices. Going hand in hand with the project would be renovation of Sparks Hall into offices for the college's central administration.

The central portion of the Administration Building was the college's first building when it opened in 1911. Three additions were made to it in the next six years and an elevator was added in the 1980s, but the building has never had extensive remodeling.

Sparks Hall was constructed as the college's first dormitory in 1915, but it has been used for many years as apartments for employees and students. Its remodeling is expected to cost about $2.5 million.

"Both are grand old buildings that are structurally sound," said CSC President Tom Krepel. "But they are tired and need lots of work. The mechanical work that is being completed in the Administration Building is a good start toward protecting the state's investment and extending the life of the building for many years. Now the final step needs to be taken."

The Administration Building renovation has been at the top of the Board of Trustees' new construction priority requests for about five years, but it was bumped by a power plant emergency at Wayne State in 2000. After the board requested $2.97 million for WSC project, CSC was assured that the Administration Building renovation would lead the requests for the 2003-05 biennium. This was reaffirmed by the board at its June 2002 meeting when the 2003-04 requests were submitted, but the funding was not provided by the Legislature.

The board will send its requests for the 2006-07 biennium to the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education, the governor and the Legislature late this summer.