Kline Center demolition set

The college awarded the project to ESA, a company based in North Sioux City, S.D., that specializes in environmental remediation and demolition. The demolition is set to begin in mid-August, said Blair Brennan, CSC coordinator of physical facilities.

Dale Grant, CSC vice president for administration, said the operational savings from the building’s removal will pay for the cost of demolition in about two years. ESA is expected to complete the project by late fall.

The Nebraska State College System Board of Trustees approved the building’s demolition at its March meeting, yet allowing for the building to remain if another community organization or business came forward with a feasible plan to occupy and renovate the deteriorating structure. None did.

Although the bid came in slightly over budget, Grant said the college will benefit from the company’s efforts to recover materials from the structure.  

 “What makes this demolition less expensive for us is that there is a lot of material such as steel, bricks, light fixtures, windows and other material can be salvaged by the contractor and sold,” Grant said. “We end up getting charged a lot less when companies are able to salvage the materials.”

Grant said revenue bond contingency funds have been identified to help pay for the project.

The building, which was erected in two phases in 1961 and 1966, originally had about 60,000 square feet of floor space and served as the college’s student center. However, the building soon experienced settling problems which led to the the south half of the building being declared structurally unsafe and demolished in 1987.

The college constructed a new student center, which opened in 1990. The Kline Center, despite problems of structural integrity and energy inefficiency, provided an adequate space for many of the college’s support services after the student center’s operations moved to the new modern facility to the south. Among the services that claimed space at one time or another in Kline through the years are tutoring, print shop, alumni and foundation, college relations, instructional resources, the journalism program, conferencing, financial aid, the Reserve Officers Training Corps and the region’s Educational Service Unit.

Offices began moving from Kline to other locations across campus this spring when CSC President Dr. Janie Park announced the decision to vacate the building, an action that had been proposed in college planning documents dating back at least two decades.

Preliminary plans for the space when the building is removed include a parking lot upgrade and development of the existing amphitheatre. Drawings show a covered stage and landscaping improvements.

Following are the office moves that were brought on by vacating the Kline Center.

-- Conferencing Office to the Student Center

-- Print Shop to the Burkhiser Complex

-- Information Services, Sports Information and College Relations to Sparks Hall and Crites Hall

-- Instructional Resource Center to Old Admin

-- Tutoring Services to the Gold Room of the residence hall complex

-- Educational Service Unit to Crites Hall

-- Reserve Officer Training Corps to Crites Hall