Penn State board of trustees to approve over $140 million in capital projects, including East Halls
Penn State’s board of trustees is set to approve $142 million in capital projects Friday, following Thursday’s finance, business and capital planning committee meeting.
The biggest ticket item, at $82.5 million, is Phase 2B of the East Halls renovations project, which encompasses the renovations of Bigler, Curtin and Packer halls and their site and utility work, said Bill Sitzabee, associate vice president for facilities management and planning.
Clayco, a design-build company based in St. Louis, Missouri, designed the plans for the building renovations.
Once construction is completed for Phase 2B, set for fall 2021, the bed count in all three buildings will be reduced by three to 782, according to board documents. Renovations will include improvements to social and common spaces, replacement of building systems, renovation of the building envelope, facade improvements and upgrades to ADA accessibility.
Renovations will add shared private bathrooms to each floor, and site improvements will include parking changes, landscaping and accessible pedestrian design, according to a Penn State News release.
The three halls will be connected to the campus chilled water system for air conditioning, which they did not previously have, Sitzabee said.
Funding for Phase 2B comes from self-supported borrowing and Housing and Food Services reserves, he said. The project will “completely buy out” $23.4 million in maintenance backlog for the three buildings.
The East Halls renovations, which began in 2016, are spanning three phases and multiple capital plans.
The first phase, which cost the university $235 million total, included the construction of Earle and Robinson halls in the North Housing Area, renovations at Pennypacker, McKean and Stuart halls, which reopened in 2018, and renovations to Brumbaugh, Tener and Pinchot halls, which reopened last fall.
Geary and Sproul halls, part of the Phase 2A renovations, are under construction and will reopen for the 2020-2021 school year.
The board will also approve several projects for Penn State commonwealth campuses:
- $14.7 million renovation of the Ostermayer Laboratory at Penn State Greater Allegheny
- $30.4 million expansion of the Beaver Community Center at Penn State Berks
- $14.4 million expansion of student spaces and addition of an organic chemistry lab, classroom and full-service kitchen at Penn State Lehigh Valley
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 4:19 PM.
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