Contract approved for Sparks Hall project at CSC
Fuller Construction Co. of Chadron has been awarded the contract to renovate and add onto Sparks Hall, one of Chadron State College’s first buildings. The three-story, red-brick structure and addition will become the headquarters for the CSC administration and foundation.
Approval of the contract occurred Friday during a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State Colleges in Peru. The original bid was for $2,495,000, but after three alternate deductions were made, the contract will be for $2,299,565, according to Ed Hoffman, vice president of administration at the college.
Hoffman said it is anticipated that the work will begin this month and take about 14 months to complete.
Five bids were received for the project. Two of the remaining bidders are contractors from Rapid City. The others are from North Platte and Lincoln.
Sparks Hall was constructed in 1914, three years after the college opened, as a women’s dormitory and dining area. Since the 1930s when Edna Work Hall and Crites Hall dormitories were built, Sparks Hall has been used for faculty and student housing. Its original cost was $27,257.
The current building has 9,690 square feet of floor space. The addition to the south, also three stories, will contain 5,975 square feet and include an elevator.
Dana Fuller said Monday he likes the addition design and how it ties in with the existing structure. He said it is similar to the renovation of the college’s old library and the addition of the Chicoine Atrium to form the Mari Sandoz High Plains Heritage Center.
“When it’s completed, I believe it will upgrade the visual concept of the college,” said Fuller of the Sparks Hall project.
The college’s president, vice presidents for academics and administration, director of institutional research, coordinator of physical facilities and the Chadron State Foundation and Alumni Offices will be among those moving to the building.
The space in the Administration Building that will be vacated when the college’s administration moves to Sparks Hall will be used for classrooms and faculty offices, Hoffman said. He added that it’s anticipated the Administration Building will eventually be renamed.
Also during the board meeting, Fuller Construction was awarded contracts to upgrade the elevators in the Math and Science Building, the Burkhiser Technology Center and the King Library. The contracts total $230,900. The work will begin immediately and continue through the summer, Hoffman said.
Category: Campus News