Eastern Michigan University invests $195 million in improving facilities

"We had a lot of maintenance costs and a lot of facilities that were beyond tired," EMU President Susan Martin said. "We had leaks in the roofs, classrooms not up to code for proper instruction, just a mountain of work that needed to be done, so we worked with Board of Regents and prioritized what was most important in servicing students and being fiscally stable."

Work on Pray-Harrold, the largest classroom building, serving 10,000 students per day, has had the most significant impact on campus life. All of the 300 faculty and students have been moved out of the building as campus officials hope to have the $42 million project largely completed by fall 2011.

The project was partly funded by a $32 million appropriation from the Michigan legislature. EMU matched roughly 25 percent of that.

According to campus officials, construction, which started in May, is on schedule and on budget. So far much of the building has been gutted, and crews have been removing asbestos and fireproofing in preparation for the interior's full renovation.

Plans include a reconfiguration of some classrooms and lecture halls, new computer labs, more commons area and improved technology. The building will see new or updated heating and air conditioning, electrical and mechanical as well as Americans with Disabilities Act updates.

"Students will experience the updated systems, new common space on the main entry level, an opened up buildings, more pleasing aesthetics and just better use of the building," ,said Scott Storrar, director of planning and construction. "The university is very excited bout this one - there's a lot of anticipation to getting back and using the new and updated version of this building.

The campus's largest project is construction of the Science Complex, which ties together Mark Jefferson, Strong Hall and a 172,000 square foot addition to Mark Jefferson's west end.

When completed at the end of 2012, the $90 million project will house 36 brand new labs, a planetarium and modernized classrooms. A pedestrian bridge from parking lot three to the west will provide commuters access to the entire complex.

Starting in January 2011, classes will be held in the new addition, while the first two floors of Mark Jefferson are renovated. Once the first two floors are complete, floors three through five will be renovated while classes resume in the lower levels.

“This is EMU’s way of moving into the 21st century and doing some state of the art stuff for the science students - it’s very exciting," EMU spokesman Geoff Larcom said.

Storrar said Mark Jefferson will see major work on its heating, air conditioning and electrical systems. It will also get new plumbing, improved handicapped accessibility and a general modernization of the structure.

Martin said the renovations and updates to the buildings and classrooms are essential to the university providing a strong education to students.

"It's positioning us to help Michigan turn around by providing people for jobs of the future," she said. "We want to have a vibrant learning environment here that Michigan residents deserve."

Four dormitories housing first-year students received significant improvements to their exteriors and some interior work. The $4.2 million project has provided new, angled windows on Sellers, Putnam, Phelps and Walton halls located on the campus’s northeast corner. Crews power washed the exterior walls, and officials say the project will make the 45-year old buildings far more energy efficient while providing a more appealing, modern look.

New angled windows have provided a more modern look at EMU's first-year student dorms.

Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com

“There isn’t a lot of money to spread around, so the most efficient, meaningful and aesthetic way to make improvements was doing the windows, which of course improves energy efficiency,” Larcom said.

Crews also installed four new elevators, and students will have wireless internet access throughout the dorms. The Eastern Eatery - the dining commons connecting the four buildings' roughly 1200 students - also received some minor remodeling.

The university also undertook a nearly $800,000 waterproofing effort around McKenny, Starkweather and Welch halls, and Halle Library to stop water infiltration.

The impact of the initial projects can already be seen in the university's utilities bills, which have been cut by $2 million over two years, Martin said.

Crews completed work over the summer that included patching and sealing foundations and reconfiguring and cleaning drainage systems.

The EMU football team started training in a new $3.9 million indoor athletic facility completed in April. The 75-foot high PVC dome is an air-supported structure covering a full size football field.

The university also installed four digital “billboards”, which Larcom said are primarily for providing academic information, advertising or event schedules, but are also “critical for security considerations” such as a campus closure or emergency.

The signs come at a cost of $450,000 and are located on Parking Structure Drive between the Student Center and Halle Library, near Boone Hall, at Huron River Drive and Hewitt Road and near the first-year student dorms.

College Place was repaved and brick crosswalks were installed over the summer.

Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com

The university borrowed $100 million for the Science Complex and is at it's borrowing capacity, university officials said. Martin said she believes the renovations, along with EMU's frozen tuition and financial aid efforts, are helping attract students to the campus.

She also pointed to another benefit of the University's makeover - 200 to 250 construction employees are working on campus daily.

Other current construction projects and costs include:

• $805,000 for an Americans With Disabilities compliant ramp, bathroom and elevator for Ford Hall, which serves the art department.
• $70,000 for brick patterned crosswalks on College Place between Cross Street and Forest Avenue, which was rebuilt by the city. The Ypsilanti Community Utility Authority also replaced water mains.
• $17,000 for a large meeting room floor in the Rec/IM Building.
• Window replacements at Bowen Field House at a cost of $175,000.
• Stairs accessing campus from the Green Lot on the campus's north side at a cost of $150,000.
• $25,000 in interior renovations and storefront updates to McKenny Hall’s Veterans’ Services Office.
• Major interior renovations to residential units at Cornell and Westview Apartments. Work included providing new plumbing, flooring , paint, fixtures, mailboxes and cabinetry totaling $200,000.
• $85,000 in interior renovations to Dining Commons ONE and Area Complex Directors’ offices.
• Interior renovations to house the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Accountability in McKenny Hall in a former mail center and copy shop.
• Landscaping work providing trees and decorative rocks around the Normal Lot, Green Lot and Pease Park area - located between Pease Hall and Cross Street -totaling $38,000.
• A new 8-foot wide asphalt pathway starting near the Autism Collaborative Center at Ainsley Street and running through west campus near the softball fields to the Huron River Drive bus stop. Including pedestrian lighting the project cost $180,000.
• $16,000 in energy efficiency improvement efforts at Alexander Hall.
• $68,000 in elevator repairs to the College of Business parking structure’s Elevator.

Tom Perkins is a freelance reporter for AnnArbor.com. For more Ypsilanti stories, visit our Ypsilanti page.