12-4-98
TRUSTEES APPROVE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS AND AWARDS
COLUMBUS – The Ohio State University Board of Trustees on
Friday (12/4) authorized the university to hire architects and
engineers and seek construction bids for a $132.34 million
renovation and addition at Larkins Hall, the student recreation
and physical education facility. Trustees also authorized other
construction, awarded contracts and conducted other business.
Trustees authorize university to begin recreation center work
Trustees gave their approval to a request to hire architects
and engineers and seek construction bids for a $132.34 million
renovation and addition at Larkins Hall, the student recreation
and physical education facility. Janet Ashe, vice president for
business and administration, made the proposal to trustees.
The project, which is expected to be completed in 2003, will
largely be funded by user fees, including a student fee of $55
per quarter in 1997 dollars. The fee will be mandatory for
Columbus campus students taking four or more credit hours and
will be assessed when the new facility opens. Faculty and staff
and their dependents who use the facilities also will be charged
a fee. The annual faculty and staff membership fee is proposed
to be 1.4 times the student fee or 2 times the student fee on a
quarterly basis.
The Ohio Legislature this month approved $3 million in
planning funds for the project in its 1999-2000 biennium capital
budget bill. The Department of Athletics has committed to fund
$14 million for its portion of the construction and operation of
the center, and the university will seek an additional $33
million in state funding in the next capital request to cover the
portion of the building to be used for academic purposes. The
user fees will cover debt service on the recreational portion of
the construction costs and operating expenses.
A feasibility study conducted in 1996 proposed a renovation
of 258,000 square feet of existing facilities and the addition of
380,000 square feet, including the replacement of the Peppe
Aquatic Center. The new construction will be attached to the
west wall of Larkins Hall and extend west, then south over the
existing tennis courts and adjacent to the west side of Cunz
Hall.
The building will house fitness space -- including 25,600
square feet of new conditioning space and 6,900 square feet of
renovated space for weight machines, cardiovascular machines and
free weights -- 10 courts for basketball, volleyball, badminton,
indoor soccer and floor hockey, and four new squash courts.
Other features will include a two-story climbing wall, a one-
eighth-mile, four-lane suspended jogging track with a panoramic
view of outside areas and Ohio Stadium, and 12 golf driving
stations.
The building will house an aquatic center with recreational
swimming pools to enhance social recreation and family recreation
programming options. Highlights will include a 10-lane, 50-meter
swimming pool, a diving pool with 1- and 3-meter boards and
platforms up to 10 meters, instructional pools, a leisure pool
and a whirlpool. There also will be seating for 2,000
spectators.
Other highlights of the facility will be a student wellness
center, new locker rooms, multi-purpose rooms, Recreational
Sports offices, a pro shop, a juice bar, social spaces and short-
term child care. Adjacent outdoor areas may include new tennis
courts, sand volleyball courts, basketball courts, an in-line
skating rink and a skateboard half-pipe.
After completion of the new construction, renovation of the
existing Larkins will begin, including the demolition of the
Peppe Aquatic Center, replacing it with an office, lab and
classroom tower for the Physical Activity and Educational
Services academic program in the College of Education. Space for
PAES will allow for the consolidation of all its program areas --
Special Education, Sport and Exercise Science, Wellness and Human
Services, and Workforce Education and Lifelong Learning -- from
three buildings into one. In doing so, it will free up space in
Pomerene and Arps halls for other uses.
New mechanical systems, the addition of air conditioning,
and bringing the facility into compliance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act will complete the renovation.
David Williams II, vice president for student and
urban/community affairs, said the recreation center is something
that students need and want. “It will expand all of the
recreation opportunities available to Ohio State students,
faculty and staff,” he said, adding that the center will serve as
a gathering place and social outlet for students as well as an
exercise facility.
“Larkins Hall can no longer handle the demand for fitness
and recreational activities. It’s also a competitive issue; many
of the universities Ohio State competes with for the most able
students have recently built state-of-the-art recreation
centers,” he said. “This will be a Grade-A recreation facility
that will catch us up for decades.”
Trustees approve other construction; award contracts
Trustees authorized the university to hire designers and
seek bids for work at the Medical Center and a regional campus.
They also awarded construction contracts for 27 projects.
At the Medical Center, University Hospitals will build two
new cardiac catheterization labs and renovate three other labs
and office space on the second floor of Rhodes Hall. In doing
so, they will relocate the respiratory therapy department to the
third floor of Doan Hall. University Hospitals will pay for the
$3 million project.
The Newark campus will renovate science laboratories at
Founders Hall, with funding for the $1.04 million project shared
by the campus and Central Ohio Technical College and the state.
Trustees also awarded contracts for the following
construction projects:
-- Construct a storm water detention area and storm sewers
near Buckeye Village, extend Fyffe Road from Hess Road to
Ackerman Road at the Child Care Center, construct two soccer
fields west of Fyffe Road and construct a surface parking lot
adjacent to the site of the future Jack Nicklaus Museum. The
$2.8 million project is being funded by $2.4 million in
university bond proceeds and the remainder from the Department of
Athletics.
-- Install fume hoods to address ventilation problems in
various scientific laboratories in the Biological Sciences area
to meet Occupational Safety and Health Administration
requirements. The $1.5 million project cost is shared by the
state and Department of Physical Facilities.
-- Renovate space on the third floor of Rhodes Hall for a
laboratory robotics system. University Hospitals will pay the
$852,300 cost.
-- Convert three rooms in the surgical suite at Doan Hall
into operating, scrub and sterilizer rooms. University Hospitals
will pay for the $802,500 project.
-- Replace the chiller at Hopkins Hall to improve
ventilation and exhaust in areas where chemicals and solvents are
used for instructional and student work. Funding for the
$555,900 project came from the state.
-- Replace exterior lights in the south and north dorm areas
and Tuttle parking lots to improve campus safety. The $507,500
project cost is shared by the state and Office of Transportation
and Parking Services.
-- Replace the roof and windows at a former residence hall
on the university’s Gibraltar Island to prevent further
deterioration. The $501,000 project cost is shared by the state
and Physical Facilities.
-- Modify ramps and other space at Mershon Auditorium and
Arps and Hopkins halls to meet Americans with Disabilities Act
access standards. The $482,000 project cost is shared by the
state and Physical Facilities.
-- Divide space at the Science and Engineering Library to
create a server room, electronic classroom and public-access
workstation. The $478,100 project cost is shared by the state
and the university.
-- Renovate space at Bevis Hall for a transgenic zebrafish
laboratory. A grant from the Ohio Board of Regents and funds
from the Department of Health Services are paying for the
$425,000 project.
-- Upgrade elevators in various buildings on campus to meet
ADA standards. Funding for the $392,900 project came from the
state.
-- Renovate part of the second floor of Cunz Hall to create
an individualized instruction center with an administrative area,
a 12-seat computer testing center, interview rooms and a video
viewing room. Funding for the $365,200 project came from the
state.
-- Renovate the Swine Isolation Building at the Ohio
Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster. Funding
for the $343,100 project came from the state.
-- Replace the leaking roof at Postle Hall. The $335,500
project cost is shared by the state and Physical Facilities.
-- Replace the chiller for heating and air conditioning at
Arps Hall. Funding for the $319,500 project came from the state.
-- Upgrade elevators in Arps Hall and the Agricultural
Administration and Animal Science buildings. The $307,300
project cost is shared by the state and Physical Facilities.
-- Upgrade the heating, ventilation and air conditioning
system and install piping for a central chilled water system at
Hitchcock Hall. Funding for the $261,200 project came from the
state.
-- Upgrade lighting fixtures at older north campus
buildings. Funding for the $250,000 project came from the state.
-- Renovate laboratories at Newton Hall for research and
animal observation. Funding for the $249,400 project came from
the state.
-- Install digital controls for heating and air conditioning
in Meiling, Graves, Newton and Postle halls to improve comfort
and reduce energy consumption. The $238,100 project cost is
shared by the state and Physical Facilities.
-- Replace exterior doors at Larkins Hall to improve fire
rating. Funding for the $200,000 project came from the state.
-- Remove deteriorated concrete at the Larkins diving pool,
diving tower, shower areas, pool walls and floor expansion
joints. The $192,900 project cost is shared by the state and
Physical Facilities.
-- Renovate ceilings and walls to repair damage from roof
leaks at Pomerene Hall. Funding for the $177,300 project came
from the state.
-- Add safety equipment at the Botany and Zoology Building
to meet OSHA requirements. Funding for the $175,300 project came
from the state.
-- Install new air conditioning systems for the Conard Art
Gallery and Eisenhower Hall on the Mansfield campus and rebuild
catch basins, drains and underground pipes. Funding for the
$120,700 project came from the state.
-- Install new asphalt in walkways of the quadrangle at the
Lima campus. Funding for the $117,000 project came from the
state.
-- Replace the roof at Haskett Hall. Funding for the
$68,700 project came from the state.
Miscellaneous business
In other business, trustees:
-- Granted an easement to the Ohio Power Co. for electric
service to the Agricultural Services Building at the Lima campus.
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Contacts: David Williams II, vice president for student
and urban/community affairs, 614-292-9334.
Jill Morelli, university architect, 614-292-4458.
Written by David Bhaerman, University Communications,
614-292-8422.