Upgrades abound at CSC this summer

More than a dozen significant construction projects and other upgrades are under way at CSC.

“There are probably more pretty good sized projects, those in the $150,000 to $600,000 range, than we have during most summers,” said Dale Grant, CSC vice president of administration and finance.

A variety of sources are being used to fund the projects, including money annually set aside for maintenance, state appropriations, revenue bonds, and money collected as fees.

The most visible of the projects is the parking lot replacement north of the High Rise, Andrews and Kent residence halls. When completed, students will find less congestion in the area as the trafficways are being widened and parking stalls will be deepened and expanded from 7½ feet to 9 feet in width.

“Even though we’re not gaining any more spots, we’re improving the quality of the parking,” Grant said.

Workers also are progressing on the largest of the campus projects, the $4.8 million renovation of the Administration Building. When completed, the structure will be a state-of-the-art teaching facility.

Grant said the third floor of the historic brick building, where CSC’s justice studies and social science programs will be housed, is almost completed. The second floor, which will be home to programs for English and humanities and communication arts, is about four weeks behind the progress of the third. The first floor, which will be the new headquarters for the teacher education program, is an additional month away from its finishing point. He expects the entire project to be finished in late fall.

The modernization of another one of the college’s oldest structures – Crites Hall – also is taking shape. The business office has joined other student services in the building to make a “one stop shop” for students to process paperwork and administrative business. While work will continue into the fall with the project, all of the services are operating in the building and it is ready for the large influx of students arriving in August.

Earlier this month, workers completed the reroofing of Memorial Hall and tied the facility’s heating and cooling system to the college’s absorption chiller – the device that generates cool air by burning wood chips from the nearby forest.

A pair of large window replacement projects are getting under way. The bid has been awarded to replace the windows in Miller Hall. Although that building was renovated in the late 1990s, installation of new windows was not part of the project. Additional windows from that bid will be placed in Kent Hall, and vendors are being sought to replace the remainder of that building’s windows.

Also on the schedule of summer facility projects is the remodeling of some residence hall rooms, installation of underground irrigation, landscaping improvements and various concrete repairs. A bid also has been awarded to install a new fire sprinkler system in the Reta King Library.

In order to bolster the college’s security efforts, a pair of technology upgrades are planned. CSC is requesting proposals from vendors for security cameras to be placed in common areas of the residence halls and is in the process of purchasing software capable of distributing mass cellular phone text messages to students and employees in case of emergency.

Other technology improvements in progress include the revamping of the college’s public Web site, installation of a campus-wide Voice-over-Internet-Protocol phone system, and implementaton of an automated process for people to connect to CSC’s wireless network. In addition, a new sound system was installed at the CSC softball field this spring.