Larry Meyer stands on a platform while tearing down debris as David Pline shovels it into the garbage can Monday afternoon in the front lobby of Mayo Hall. Mayo Hall will be vacant for this upcoming school year while it is under renovation.
While many MSU students are gone for the summer, the campus has still been buzzing — with construction. More than 15 projects have been under construction this summer, including renovations to Mayo Hall, the Holden Hall public areas, Spartan Stadium, Wharton Center and Farm Lane.
Construction by MSU
MSU’s Physical Plant Division has numerous projects this summer, including renovating Mayo Hall by reflooring, repainting and relighting the hall, along with adding a fire protection system, a new fire alarm system and an elevator.
“The demolition is for the most part complete, the plumbing and electrical systems are about 20 percent complete, and we’re just starting the new architectural changes – the project is on schedule,” said Brad Bull, construction superintendent for MSU.
The $12.75 million project is scheduled to be completed June 19, 2009, Bull said.
“It’s a little early, because after that, the Division of Housing & Food Services will bring in the furniture, and move back … the full-time staff that works in building,” he said.
The dorm, which typically houses 200 students, will be closed for the 2008-09 school year.
Holden Hall also is receiving updates for its public spaces, including new paint and furniture in the elevator lobbies, floor lounges, service centers and hallways.
Construction projects at MSU are determined when the campus approaches the Physical Plant Division, Bull said.
“We (also) have long-range planning – we know what we’re doing year to year,” he said.
“The steam, water and electrical projects you see, we’ve been planning for a while.”
Mayo Hall was chosen because Housing & Food Services looks at the priority of the type of renovations that have to be performed, and the hall had infrastructure issues that needed attention fairly soon, said Angela Brown, director of University Housing. The other dorms shouldn’t be affected by this renovation, she said.
“Pretty much every year we do renovations in the halls, but the renovations we are doing right now are very major so it better meet the needs of students,” she said.
During the 2006-07 school year, Snyder and Phillips halls were closed for major renovations, including the addition of a new dining service, The Gallery.
Housing & Food Services is in the process of finalizing a strategic plan, which will lay out the order in which the other residence halls will be renovated, Brown said.
Other projects the Physical Plant Division is pursuing are the $18.5 million expansion of Wharton Center by adding rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms, storage area and concession services, and the $3 million restoration of Spartan Stadium’s East Upper Stand.
Construction by MDOT
The most significant project on campus is the Farm Lane underpass, although it is not the Physical Plant Division’s project, Bull said.
Farm Lane, which has been under construction since March and is being funded by MSU, the Michigan Department of Transportation, or MDOT, and the Ingham County Road Commission, is being lowered beneath the two railroad crossings between Trowbridge and Service roads.
The biggest reason for the $37 million project is for safety, as it will eliminate cars and pedestrians from having to cross the railroad tracks, said Kari Arend, spokeswoman for MDOT.
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English junior Joie Converse said that while she is on campus less during the summer, she has noticed the Farm Lane construction because she attends church in Holt.
“That’s only once a week, it’s not too hard to handle,” she said. “I definitely think the campus needs the construction, some of the roads are really bad.”
Several students said they prefer construction in the summer because it does not affect them as much as it will during the school year, but Farm Lane is not expected to be opened until summer 2009.
However, MDOT has been working to make sure students and residents are minimally affected, Arend said.
The department has worked with groups on campus that may have large events to make sure that clients still have access to the events, and is beginning to work with the athletics department for the fall, as the construction affects one of the lots used for tailgating, she said.
MDOT also is working closely with Capital Area Transportation Authority to guarantee students using the commuter lot will not lose the bus service, she said.
The project is now in the stage where the two overpasses are being built, Arend said.
“We’re only about halfway through (the project), maybe not even that,” she said. “If we’re just starting the bridge, there’s a lot of drainage work to go, and a lot of miscellaneous roadwork.”
