December 17, 2005
Purdue trustees move forward on IPFW student housing, ag center
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue University Board of Trustees today (Saturday, Dec. 17) approved construction of two new student housing units at the Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne campus and approved planning of a teaching facility at the Purdue Agronomy Center for Research and Education near West Lafayette.
The $10.5 million second phase of IPFW's student housing project will provide more than 200 beds in a mix of one-, two- and four-bedroom units. Bonds, to be repaid from housing revenues, will finance the project. The design contract was awarded to Design Collaborative of Fort Wayne. The two new buildings will match the existing complex, but the new halls will be one story taller to accommodate more students.
This is the third year that on-campus housing has been offered at IPFW.
"Purdue is committed to providing high-quality on-campus housing as an option for students seeking the most viable living arrangement," said Morgan R. Olsen, executive vice president and treasurer. "When Phase II is finished, IPFW will be able to provide housing to nearly 800 of its students."
The board also approved the planning of a $2.85 million project to build a pedestrian bridge across the St. Joseph River to connect IPFW's west and main campuses. A portion of the project will be funded by a grant from the Indiana Department of Transportation, with the remainder being funded by the Indiana Purdue Foundation.
The board approved the planning and naming of the $3.66 million Beck Agricultural Center at the Purdue Agronomy Center for Research and Education and awarded the design contract for the building to Woolen, Molzan and Partners Inc. of Indianapolis. The center will provide modern technologies for teaching and offer educational activities for business, government and academia.
"Adopting new technologies will help producers and agribusiness leaders continue to thrive in a highly competitive industry," said Randy Woodson, the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture. "Purdue Agriculture is committed to working with the entire food, agriculture and natural resource system to grow the economy. The Beck Center is a critical resource that will help us meet that goal."
The Beck family of Atlanta, Ind., for whom the center is named, provided the lead gift for this facility. The family, which started Beck's Hybrids in 1937, has spent nearly 70 years in the seed business and has a longtime connection to Purdue.
The board also approved the naming of several other new buildings on the West Lafayette campus:
• The e-Enterprise Center in Discovery Park will be named the Gerald D. and Edna E. Mann Hall. The Manns have pledged $3 million to create two endowed positions: a directorship for Mann Hall and the Gerald and Edna Mann Director of the Bindley Bioscience Center. The balance of the gift will go to the Mann Hall building fund. Mann Hall will provide research and administrative space for a number of existing centers and also will provide information technology infrastructure for Discovery Park.
• The new electrical and computer engineering building will be named the Seng-Liang Wang Hall to honor the father of Patrick Wang, who donated $5 million for the facility. The approximately 40,000-square-foot building will be housed near Discovery Park.
• The new structural biology building will be named the Wayne T. and Mary T. Hockmeyer Hall in honor of the donors who gave the $5.3 million leadership gift. The gift will go toward the construction of a building near Discovery Park. The building will accommodate about 140 faculty, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students. The facility also will include lab space for individual faculty and an additional 15,000 square feet of general lab space dedicated to the larger equipment necessary for structural biology research. The internationally renowned structural biology group, which is a division of the College of Science's Department of Biological Sciences, currently occupies the Center for Structural Biology in the basement of Lilly Hall.
• The Purdue Child Care Program will be renamed the Ben and Maxine Miller Child Learning Center in honor of the alumni couple. The Millers have provided years of leadership, service and support to the university. The center is housed in Fowler House and will be part of the planned Human Development Institute, which will include new space to be located west of Fowler. The institute also will house programs and centers from the College of Consumer and Family Sciences.
The board also approved the planning and financing to repair or upgrade buildings on the West Lafayette campus:
• The Stewart Center library area will receive more than 17,000 square feet of replacement clay roof tile and almost 5,000 square feet of membrane roofing to repair leaks. The $1.3 million project, which also includes some masonry repairs, will be designed by Scholer Corp. of Lafayette and will be financed through repair and rehabilitation funds.
• The Wetherill Laboratory of Chemistry will receive a $2 million upgrade to its electrical systems. The board awarded the design contract to Superior Engineering LLC of Hammond, Ind. Repair and rehabilitation funds will pay for the work.
In other business, the board voted to reject all four bids for a 350-vehicle parking garage at Purdue North Central.
"The bids were considerably higher than the funds allotted for this project," said Wayne Kjonaas, vice president for physical facilities. "Therefore, a contract will not be awarded at this time."
The garage was budgeted at $5 million, but the lowest base bid came in at $5.37 million.
Writer: Jim Schenke, (765) 494-6262, jschenke@purdue.edu
Sources: Morgan R. Olsen, (765) 494-9705, mrolsen@purdue.edu
Wayne Kjonaas, (765) 494-8000, wwkjonaas@purdue.edu
Randy Woodson, (765) 494-8391, woodson@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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