Maintenance on heating and cooling systems will affect campus buildings next week and is expected to cost around $2 million. The Boyd Dining Hall renovation and construction of the new South Green dorms are on schedule.
While student activity on Ohio University’s campus is low during the summer, construction on campus doesn’t stop.
Due to maintenance, a campus-wide steam outage will take place from May 13 at 6 p.m. to May 21 at 6 p.m. and will affect cooling systems in campus buildings. Steve Wood, executive director for Facilities Management, estimates the project will cost the university $2 million.
Morton Hall, Ellis Hall, Copeland Hall and the Ping Center rely on steam for cooling through absorption coolers and will be affected by the outage, Wood said.
“The reason for this outage is to allow us to conduct some pretty significant maintenance on our steam line and distribution system that goes across campus,” Woods said.
In addition, OU Facilities recently found issues with heating systems in campus buildings. The university hopes to start repairs on the systems and finish before “heat season” begins in the fall, Wood said.
“There will also be some impact to domestic hot water,” Wood said. “So in some facilities, there may not be hot water to wash hands or take a shower.”
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="d75d1462-bed1-5dca-80d4-555cd7f7bcc4"}}
The Boyd Dining Hall renovation project is on schedule to finish in July and will be open to students in August, said Richard Shultz, interim associate vice president for Architecture, Design and Construction.
Though construction on Jefferson Hall is expected to begin this summer, the official start date is “being evaluated,” said Joseph Lalley, senior associate vice president for Information Technologies and Administrative Services.
Renovations to Jefferson Hall will cost $44 million and include dining areas such as a “Whole Foods concept” market, according to a previous Post report.
Faculty and staff are moving from McCracken Hall into Lindley Hall this week and next week as construction on McCracken begins, Shultz said.
The renovations to McCracken are expected to cost nearly $33 million and will add around 35,000 square-feet to the building, according to a previous Post report.
Shultz said he expects the renovation project to be fully underway by the end of the month.
“It was really wonderful to get this project moving forward after all these years,” he said.
Construction on the “sweep,” a walkway connecting the south area of campus to West Green, is underway and will be completed in August, Shultz said. The total cost of the project is $1.5 million, he said.
“Over the years, (the walkway) has just been one of the main ways that students walk across campus,” Shultz said. “So we are increasing the walkability, the accessibility, the safety of that. The real intention is that you’ll be able to go from the West Green, across Richland Avenue, walk by Baker Center and get all the way over to South Beach with one large continuous pedestrian way.”
In addition, construction of the new South Green dorms continues to be on schedule. Shultz said the dorms will be completed in July and will be open to students in August.
A lighting project was also recently completed at Emeriti Park, Lalley said.
“That was a significant improvement in the lighting in that area,” he said. “I know that has been a concern of students and others, so we are really pleased to get that done.”
@megankhenry
mh573113@ohio.edu
