Purdue trustees approve fitness center construction
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue University Board of Trustees on Friday (Feb. 3) approved a $500,000 increase to the budget for interior work within the $98 million Student Fitness and Wellness Center renovation and addition.
On Thursday (Feb. 2) the Physical Facilities Committee approved a $3.36 million construction contract with J.R. Kelly Co. of Lafayette, Ind., to demolish the old varsity baseball diamond and install parking, landscaping and canopies outside the Boilermaker Aquatic Center and East/West Gym. The contract is the final bid package for the fitness center project.
The committee also approved lab renovations at the Heine Pharmacy Building and planning for electrical upgrades at the Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories.
The increase in the fitness center's interior budget to $15.55 million will allow Purdue to fireproof exposed structural steel, including under the running track. The increased funding, which will be drawn from a central reserve account to reduce risk, will also fund ceiling and door hardware improvements.
"This renovation brings the Recreational Sports Center, the first comprehensive collegiate fitness center when it opened in 1957, up to standards with the best modern facilities and meets our students expressed desires for space, convenience and comfort," said Howard Taylor, director of the division of recreational sports. "The renovation period was also the best, most logical and most cost-efficient time to upgrade fire safety, electrical and mechanical systems."
The committee approved a $1.64 million construction contract with Kettelhut Construction Co. of Lafayette, Ind., to renovate and reconfigure lab space on the ground floor of Heine Pharmacy Building. A new mechanical room will be constructed and new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems installed. The project was designed to bring the facilities up to current research standards and to service any future lab renovations.
The committee also approved a resolution to hire Spectrum Engineering Corp. of Auburn, Ind., to plan a replacement to the high-voltage substation outside the Zucrow Laboratories for jet and rocket propulsion research. The $3.9 million project also will replace switching gear inside the complex, located adjacent to Purdue Airport.
Writer: Jim Schenke, 765-494-6262, jschenke@purdue.edu
Sources: Robert McMains, vice president for physical facilities, 765-494-8000, remcmains@purdue.edu
Howard Taylor, 765-494-3114, hhtaylor@purdue.edu
Related website:
College of Pharmacy