Facilities Management

As the fall semester quickly approaches, Facilities Management (FM) is hard at work with several construction projects across campus including the Founders Hall renovation, parking lot construction (Lots A, 10 and Korte Stadium), water valve replacements, sidewalks replacements, and the Lovejoy Library skylight. Below are brief updates on each of these projects. 

Founders Hall 

The move back to recently renovated areas of Founders Hall on the second and third floors is in progress, with the School of Business and ROTC mostly moved back into the third floor and Marketing and Management in process of moving back to the second floor. FM will begin moving general classrooms back late July into early August. Also, in preparation for the next phase of the Founders Hall renovation, FM will move offices and classrooms from the first floor and lower level of Founders Hall to swing space in Science East and the Vadalabene Center during the first two weeks of August. 

For construction progress, several tasks remain ongoing including window installation (nearing completion); interior painting; flooring; mechanical, electrical, and plumbing; penthouse insulated metal panel installation; and the fire curtain at third floor atrium. At the towers, fireproofing at the northeast tower will be completed this week, stairs are being installed in the southeast tower, and the mechanical buildout (air conditioning) will be completed the first week of August. 

Parking Lots 

FM is in the process of re-designing and re-surfacing several parking lots across campus, most notably Lot A and Korte Stadium. These improvements are designed to improve safety, traffic flow, parking accessibility (including ADA parking), lighting, and increased parking capacity.  

Phase one of the Lot A project is complete, which added a roundabout to entrance from Circle Dr., and resurfaced the southwest section of the lot. Though the new entrance drive still needs additional asphalt layers and the roundabout needs the center island completed, the driveis now open for traffic. The second phase is underway to resurface the center portion of the lot. FM plans to complete this phase by mid-August and complete the entrance drive and roundabout final pavement layers.  

The Korte Stadium lot project is also underway. With many of the same benefits as the Lot A project, this project will expand parking capacity and upgrade the lot to a well-lit, paved area and is also expected to be completed by mid-August. 

Walkways 

In another effort to improve transportation around campus, FM is also working on replacing walkways. This project will replace old walkways surfaces (many which were in poor condition) with concrete and improve ADA access with more user-friendly slopes. The current phase of the project focuses on areas between Lovejoy Library and Science East, around the Quad, and near Hairpin Dr. FM plans to have the walkways in these areas completed by mid-August.  

Water Valves 

FM is in the process of replacing several water valves for domestic water service around campus. Many of the water valves that allow FM to shut off water service to buildings are original and nearly 50-60 years old. Replacing these old valves will also allow FM to shut off water to individual buildings, rather than groups of buildings. FM plans to complete the current phase of this project by mid-August. State funding is being provided to complete all future phases in one project including water valves and lines at the Alton Campus. 

Lovejoy Library Skylight 

If you’ve been to Lovejoy Library during a rain storm, you may have noticed leaks from the skylight. FM is preparing to replace the skylight and has installed temporary walls to isolate the construction area and protect surrounding areas while we replace the skylight. With this area sectioned off, disruptions to daily business at Lovejoy should be kept to a minimum.