FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Max W & Maileen Brown Family Hall will add instructional lab capacity – needed to accommodate student enrollment growth – after the Purdue University Board of Trustees on Friday (Aug. 5) granted approval to plan, finance, construct and award construction contracts for renovation to the home of the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The project will renovate approximately 32,000 square feet on the first floor. Several instructional labs, lab support spaces, computational research labs, classrooms, offices and a collaboration area will be renovated or created. In addition, mechanical, electrical and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems that primarily support the first floor will be upgraded. The estimated total project cost is $14.573 million, with $14 million financed from gift funds and $573,000 from operating funds. Construction is expected to begin in May 2023 with completion in May 2024.
Trustees also approved two repair and rehabilitation projects – Vawter Hall electrical enhancements and replacements and northwest chiller plant system improvements.
The Vawter Hall project will enhance the current electrical distribution system, which also serves Warren Hall and Windsor Dining Court, thereby improving lighting and equipment reliability through the modernization of the buildings’ electrical distribution system. The estimated total project cost of $3 million will be financed by auxiliary funds. Construction is expected to begin in May 2024 with completion in July 2024.
The northwest chiller plant project will replace three condenser water pumps and supporting equipment. The estimated total project cost of $2.25 million will be financed by operating funds-reserves. Construction is expected to begin in October 2023 with completion in June 2024.
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Source: Jay Wasson