Purdue News
Purdue News
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December 19, 1998
Purdue trustees move forward with aquatics centerWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Purdue University Board of Trustees today (Saturday, 12/19) authorized spending $14.5 million for the construction of a new aquatics center on the West Lafayette campus. The board also hired architects for a Union Club Hotel renovation and a contractor for a variety of small- and medium-sized construction projects during the next year. The aquatics center, funded entirely through donations, will be built behind the Recreational Sports Center on land that is currently occupied by an outdoor pool and diving well, three tennis courts and two basketball courts. The new center will replace the 40-year-old indoor and outdoor pools at the Recreational Sports Center and the 60-year-old pool at Lambert Fieldhouse. So far, $12.75 million has been raised toward the $14.5 million goal. Athletic Director Morgan Burke said he expects the goal to be reached in 1999. That will allow construction to start next summer. Construction is estimated to take 22 months. The facility would open in August 2001. The plans call for a new Olympic-size pool with eight 50-meter lanes and a separate diving well with two one-meter and two three-meter boards and a tower with three diving platforms. The center will be home to the men's and women's swim teams and also will be open to users and guests of the Recreational Sports Center. The aquatics center will connect via a corridor to the sports center. The Recreational Sports Center will undergo separate $7 million renovation in the future. At that time, Purdue will seek bonding authority from the Indiana General Assembly to pay for $5 million of the work on the center, and $2 million will be provided from reserve funds. The projects are a cooperative venture among Intercollegiate Athletics, the Department of Health, Kinesiology and Leisure Studies, and the Division of Recreational Sports. The trustees approved two other proposals from Wayne Kjonaas, vice president for physical facilities. They hired Blackburn Architects, Indianapolis, and Scholer Corp., Lafayette, to plan the renovation of the Purdue Memorial Union Club Hotel. The hotel's west wing has not undergone a major renovation since its construction in 1955, Kjonaas said. The renovation will include replacement of the heating and air-conditioning systems, installation of a sprinkler system, and refurbishing more than 120 rooms. The cost is estimated at about $9 million. The trustees also approved a one-year job order contract for up to $4 million with F.H. Paschen of Des Plaines, Ill. The contract provides a wide range of standard construction and renovation services for facilities on the West Lafayette campus. "The job order contracting process lowers our costs and shortens the lead time we need to complete many small- and medium-sized projects on campus," Kjonaas said.
Source: Morgan Burke, (765) 494-3189; e-mail, mjb@athletics.purdue.edu Wayne Kjonaas, (765) 494-8000; e-mail, wwkjonaas@physfac.purdue.edu
Writer: J. Michael Willis, (765) 494-0371; e-mail, mike_willis@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
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