CSU Board of Governors Approves $124.5 Million Bond Package for Animal Sciences, Student Center Renovations, Housing Development

Note to Reporters: Renderings of the buildings are available with the news release at http://news.colostate.edu.

The Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System on Wednesday approved a $124.5 million bond package that includes upgrades to classroom and learning facilities for students in agriculture; a new, state-of-the-art undergraduate housing facility that will accommodate more than 600 students; and renovation of the 50-year-old Lory Student Center.

Students have voted to increase their fees to pay for the majority of the Lory Student Center renovation, and students who live in the new housing development will pay for that facility.

The total bond package approved Wednesday includes:

• $7.5 million for a partial renovation of the Animal Sciences Building to prepare the building for future expansion and facility enhancement;
• $60 million for the student center renovation; and
• $57 million for the new housing development and renovation of the existing Durrell Center.

Bonds are expected to be issued in the spring. Design work is just beginning, but construction on the housing and Animal Science projects is expected to start immediately after graduation in May, said Amy Parsons, vice president for University Operations. Construction will begin on the Lory Student Center renovation in May 2013.

“These will be state-of-the-art facilities that will enhance the college experience for future students as well as improve our campus community for everyone,” Parsons said.

Renovations to the 60-year-old Animal Sciences facility will support the needs of more than 800 students majoring in one of Colorado State’s signature academic programs. The Animal Sciences department offers a competitive, science-based education that prepares responsible, forward-thinking leaders for the nation’s livestock industries. The building houses the meats laboratory, which central to the university’s international expertise in meat safety and quality.

The planned $19.5 million renovation is one of the first steps in upgrading some of Colorado State’s agricultural education facilities and will include the $7.5 million bond issue to replace the plumbing, mechanical, electrical and telecommunications systems in the 41,558-square-foot building and install modern audio-visual systems in the renovated teaching laboratories and classrooms. The College of Agricultural Sciences is seeking private funding to build two additions including a 170-seat auditorium.

“Providing a first-rate education in agricultural sciences is part of our mission as the state’s land-grant university – and our faculty and students in agriculture are among the best in the world,” Parsons said. “Unfortunately, some of our teaching and lab space for the College of Agricultural Sciences is showing its age, and we are actively focused on upgrading the spaces necessary to fully support one of the university’s most unique and important academic programs.”

Students who live in the new housing development will pay for it through room and board rates. The project will be built on the site of the Lory Apartments along Laurel Avenue immediately east of the Westfall and Durward Hall towers. Leases at the Lory Apartments, which host graduate students, will end May 31, so Apartment Life has been working with current residents to reassign them to their choice of housing in one of the other three university apartment communities (International House, University Village and Aggie Village).

Construction of the housing facility will take an estimated 24 months to complete.

The total Lory Student Center project is expected to cost $65 million, which includes bond proceeds as well as $5 million in Lory reserves. While designs are still being finalized, the project is expected to renovate 160,000 square feet and add 40,000 square feet, which includes updating as many as 19 of the 50-year-old mechanical systems in the building. The LSC theater renovation is under way and is expected to be completed in the summer, providing swing space for programs and events as the LSC renovation progresses.

Construction is expected to take 16 to 18 months and will eventually include temporary relocations of about half of the building, including some student and food services. The project is expected to be completed by fall 2014, which is when a student fee increase will be implemented.

About 18,000 people pass through the halls of the Lory Student Center every day.

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