Sangren renovations in the works

By Nichole Allen
Western Herald

(Michael Paeplow/Western Herald)

After being ignored for 20 years, Sangren Hall will finally be getting a face-lift.

After sitting on Western Michigan University’s top priority list for more than 10 years, the 44-year-old building will be undergoing renovations in phases with an estimated $56 million cost.

The State of Michigan Legislature approved the initial $11.7 million for the first phase. WMU will be responsible for $3.9 million to reach the $15.6 million total cost of “Sangren Hall – Phase 1” as titled and signed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

Currently WMU is in the early stages of the fund-raising process. The university is looking for gifts to help reach the $3.9 million.

“Any amounts not funded through the gift process would be primarily funded through borrowing,” Lowell Rinker, vice president of Business and Finance & CFO and treasurer for the Board of Trustees said.

Sangren Hall produces more credit hours of instruction than any other building on campus.

It is home to the College of Education, the Dept. of Sociology and WMU’s teacher preparation programs. The
200,000-square-foot hall has lecture halls and classrooms used by departments in several colleges.

Several years ago the university asked the State for $40 million of the estimated $56 million cost of the Sangren Hall revamp project. While are limited funds for large capital projects, the renovations have so far been bypassed, Rinker said.

“A few years ago, when the state had some capital money to commit, they essentially said to us: ‘we don’t have $40 million to give, what is your highest need that can be done with $10 million of support?’” Rinker said.

That money funded the renovation of Brown Hall, said Rinker.

“It simply builds on the success of Brown Hall, more of a good thing,” David W. Dakin II, AIA director of Campus Facility Development and Campus Services Building said. “I’m sure there is a point where we could have enough great classroom space, but we are not there yet.”

He added that the size of Sangren Hall places it in a league by itself.

The first phase includes replacing the auditorium end of the building and rebuilding four new auditoriums, fitting the demands of class size. The plan also includes 10 or 11 50-student classrooms. The second phase is a plan to renovate the back portion of the structure, including new interiors and updated classroom technology.

“We will start with finalizing the programming of the building,” Rinker said. “That will be followed by design and construction drawings, with actual constriction probably a year out.”

Rinker acknowledges that Sangren Hall is a very tired facility as evidenced by the fact that WMU had it on its capital outlay priority list for many years.
“Not only will students have better lighting, classroom furniture and interiors, but we will provide current classroom technologies that will enable our faculty to deliver the best education possible,” Rinker said. “Our students and faculty deserve to learn and teach in environments that are conducive to top quality education and research.”
The most important thing is creating an environment where our faculty and students can excel.
“They will have better everything,” Dakin said. “Better seats, tables to set their lap top on and better lit rooms with good comfort control.“
The entire building will be accessible and better for the environment through using green materials and cutting energy and water costs.
University administration estimates that the construction time will be approximately 18 months.
Including the planning, drawing and construction, staff and students will not have full use of the building until fall of 2011.
“However, I expect we will have partial use back on line possibly as early as fall 2010,” Rinker said.
In expectation of rerouting faculty and students through the renovation process, steps are already taking place to compensate for the loss of space.
“In terms of alternate classroom space, we have been adding classrooms in Kohrman Hall and retooling some in McCraken Hall,” Rinker said. “In addition, we will have to use other classroom buildings more fully, meaning earlier and later classes. We will also need to identify alternate office space,” he added.
As for pedestrian traffic, WMU has several options to consider in terms of construction lay down areas, Rinker said.
“We will choose the one which we feel will be the least disruptive to traffic that still allows efficient access to the construction zone,” Rinker said.
With Phase 1 approved, the university’s next step is the selection process to procure architectural services.
Currently WMU is approved to start planning Phase 1 only, Phase 2 is expected to be approved later next year.

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Oct 7 2008. Filed under Campus, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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