Editor’s Note: The following actions were taken by the regents at their April meeting.
By Wono Lee, News and Information Services
and Diane Brown, Facilities and Operations
Addition to be built to the Law School
The regents approved a Law School project to add approximately 130,000 square feet of new space on the south side of the Law Quadrangle. Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) was approved as the project architect. RPBW has a reputation for skill in designing additions to important buildings, such as the Chicago Art Institute and the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York City.
Most of the buildings in the Law Quad were built between 1924 and 1933. The addition above the Legal Research book stack projection was constructed in the 1950s, and the underground library addition was built in the early 1980s. Since the original buildings were completed, the Law School student body has grown from 500 to 1,100 and the number of faculty has quadrupled. Many new legal education methods, programs and services also have been introduced. The Law School administration and faculty, with student input, were instrumental in the planning process for the new addition.
The project is estimated to cost $75 million, which will be funded with Law School resources and fundraising.
Three buildings to undergo renovations
The School of Information North Building, the Institute for Social Research building, and Medical Science II were approved for renovations. The second floor of the School of Information North Building will be renovated to accommodate faculty and administrative programs that will be relocated from West Hall. The building was formerly the North Campus Computing Center. School of Information student services and classes will retain their West Hall location. The project is estimated to cost $1.37 million, will be funded from central administration sources, and will be completed in December.
Approximately 21,000 square feet of space on the first and second floors in the Institute for Social Research (ISR) building will be renovated. Once completed next summer, the Population Studies Center will relocate from leased space at 311 Maynard. Additionally, the Family and Demography group of the Survey Research Center will move to the renovated space from elsewhere in the building. ISR will fund the $1 million project cost. Biomedical research laboratories on the fourth and seventh levels of Med Sci II will be renovated and upgraded for the departments of human genetics, cell and developmental biology, and physiology. Approximately 9,000-square-feet of space will receive new laboratory casework, flooring, lights, and ceilings, as well as updated mechanical and electrical systems. The project cost of $2 million will be funded from medical school sources. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer and be completed next spring.
Hospital to receive a new fuel tank
A new 30,000-gallon fuel tank with containment features and a leak detection monitoring system will be installed this summer at the University Hospital to provide emergency power. The Hospital and Health Centers’ capital fund will provide the $705,000 project cost.
Mosher-Jordan fire alarms to be replaced
The fire alarm system at Mosher-Jordan Residence Hall will be replaced this summer. The current system was installed more than 30 years ago, and is reaching the end of its useful life. Through this project, eight double rooms will be equipped to alert people with hearing disabilities. The $620,000 project cost will be funded from housing division reserve funds.
Approval granted to sell property
The University will sell the property at 1304 Gardner Ave. in Ann Arbor that it received through an estate gift in 1983 as the previous tenant now is vacating the home. The four-bedroom, two-bath Cape Cod frame house was built in 1927. There also is a small apartment on the second floor. A 2002 appraisal estimated the home’s value at $270,000. Net proceeds from the sale will benefit the School of Music.
Central Power Plant renovations approved
The Central Power Plant steam pipes connecting to the tunnel system will be replaced with larger diameter pipes to interface with the new larger diameter pipes that were installed in a previous tunnel renovation project. The larger diameter pipes will increase the overall efficiency of the plant and accommodate the increased need for steam distribution on central campus. The project, which is expected to be completed in December, is estimated to cost $1.4 million and will be funded from the Plant Operations Utilities Department repairs reserve.
Palmer Drive to connect with Fletcher parking structure
The regents approved a portion of the bridge and plaza connecting the Fletcher Street parking structure with the plaza to be constructed on Palmer Drive. This section includes the north side of the Undergraduate Science Instruction Center. Central administration funds will provide the $1.3 million project cost.
