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Butterfield renovations approved by MSU trustees

January 27, 2013
	<p>Emmons Hall in Brody Complex Neighborhood is currently open and housing students after major renovations over the past year. Emmons was the first hall in the complex to be renovated, and the project will finish when Butterfield opens for the fall of 2014. Lauren Wood/The State News</p>

Emmons Hall in Brody Complex Neighborhood is currently open and housing students after major renovations over the past year. Emmons was the first hall in the complex to be renovated, and the project will finish when Butterfield opens for the fall of 2014. Lauren Wood/The State News

Photo by Lauren Wood | The State News

At Friday’s MSU Board of Trustees meeting, the trustees unanimously approved a few construction, renovation and expansion projects on and off campus.

College of Human Medicine’s expansion to Flint
The trustees approved plans to pursue a lease with the Uptown Reinvestment Corporation, or URC, to expand the college’s growing public health program to a 40,000 square foot space in Flint, Mich.
Cost: Rent is $300,000 per year and will be paid for via grant. Operating costs are approximately $400,000 per year.
Time frame: A 20-year term
Stage: Final agreements are being made with the URC. Grant money will pay for the first year’s rent.
“This is for the students and faculty and the (college’s) educational programming and research (needs),” Dean of the College of Human Medicine Marsha Rappley said during the meeting.

Fuel station relocation and reconstruction
The on-campus fuel station, currently located at Spartan Stadium, will be rebuilt on Service Road, east of the Laundry Building. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security deemed the station’s current location a top safety concern at MSU.
Cost: $4.8 million
Time frame (slated): April 2013 to August 2015
Stage: The construction project is proceeding.
“The large fuel tanks that are below the stadium, when you think of what could happen to the seventy-some-thousand people in the stadium if some terrible person were to ignite and combust the fuel to explode, (we) would have a huge tragedy on our hands,” Physical Plant Assistant Vice President Ron Flinn said after the meeting.

Munn Ice Arena
The project would include improvements to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and would replace the arena’s ice-making system.
Preliminary cost: $6.5 million
Time frame (slated): September 2013 — the construction time of the project will depend on the 2013-14 hockey season.
Stage: The project is in the planning phase.
“(The cooling system) is nearly 40 years of age, and if it fails, we would not have ice,” Flinn said during the meeting.

Butterfield Hall renovations
The trustees approved to grant funds to DeMaria Construction Company for the reconstruction of Butterfield Hall. The renovations will include upgrades to the mechanical, ventilation and electrical systems and would revamp the common rooms, bathrooms and plumbing system.
Cost: About $11.9 million
Time frame (slated): May 2013 to June 2014 — The building will be closed to students during this time.
Stage: The construction project is proceeding.
“Some of the buildings are so old, they’re almost 100 years old,” Trustee Faylene Owen said after the meeting.
“They’re falling apart, falling down, it’s not safe. And we are trying to make it (as) safe as we can.”

Akers Hall renovations
The board approved a complete reconstruction and renovation of the serving and dining areas in the residence hall. The project also would upgrade the plumbing, mechanical and electrical systems, bringing them up to safety code requirements.
Preliminary cost: $20 million
Time frame (slated): May 2014 to June 2015 — The dining hall will be closed during construction.
Stage: The reconstruction is in the planning stage.
“Akers Hall is our last signature dining (renovation) in the East Neighborhood, and it will be funded with bond financing and also reserve funding,” Vice President for Auxiliary Enterprises Vennie Gore said during the meeting.

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