Tech is scheduled to begin projects on two recently purchased buildings, Foundation Hall and Southwest Hall, as the semester ends.
Foundation Hall, formerly Prescott Middle School, is to undergo maintenance to 14 classrooms, beginning April 16.
“We’ll be going in there now, starting to clean it up, getting ready for and creating what we’re calling surge space,” Jack Butler, Facilities and Business Services associate vice president, said. “So when we go into a building and renovate it, we’ll relocate people to that surge space.”
Butler said the surge space classrooms are being repaired on an as-needed basis and will accommodate a class of 20 to 30 students. He said that the intent is for Foundation Hall to be the only surge space on campus.
“Basically, we’re going in, cleaning up, making sure that the heating and air conditioning electrical systems are functional, and if the building has a roof leak, fixing the roof leak and getting it ready to actually have people in that space,” Butler said.
Classrooms are expected to be ready for the summer term.
Long term uses for Foundation Hall are still undetermined.
The next project, renovation of the Regional Health Building-renamed Southwest Hall-will begin after the maintenance to Foundation Hall begins.
Contractor bids for the renovation will be held next month.
“If we bid May 1, we hope to begin June 1,” Butler said.
Southwest Hall will undergo more extensive changes than Foundation Hall.
“It’s getting a complete change in the function because the Child Development center is going in there,” Butler said. “So that will be a whole different design-interior walls, some exit doors will be changed, we have to change the heating and air conditioning system out and the main entry for everybody else.
“The Child Development Lab needs to have a separation of space, so we can’t have people wandering into the CDL from the other part of the building. So there will be a main entrance installed for the rest of the building, coming out into the open lot just to the east of the building.”
The renovations expected to be complete in 11 to 12 months.
