Members of the Penn State Board of Trustees’ Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning discussed improvements to campus residence halls and more renovations to the Intramural Building at their meeting at The Hotel Hershey this morning.
Ideally, renovations to 14 dormitories in East Halls and nine in Pollock Hall will begin in about the next two years, Associate Vice President for Auxiliary and Business Services Gail Hurley said.
The built-in furniture, such as the desks, will be removed to give students more space and give them flexibility in arranging their rooms, Hurley said. The upgrades also include the addition of air conditioning, wireless Internet access and surveillance, she said. Two buildings, or 600 bed spaces, will be renovated per year, Hurley said.
Rich Pearce, associate vice president for Auxiliary and Business Services, said he expects the project to cost a little more than $300 million over a 10 year period. That equates to approximately $30 million annually, Hurley said.
She said $20 million will be borrowed, and $10 million will come from reserves. Hurley said the renovations will cause a slight reduction in bed space.
Earlier in the meeting, Ford Stryker, associate vice president of the Office of Physical Plant (OPP), said members of the Student Activity Fee said they would like to spend additional funds to improve the IM Building. Trustees discussed additional IM Building Space and improvements at their last meeting.
Members of the SAF committee want to include three gyms and convert the central area of the IM Building to a sports turf surface, Stryker said. They also want to improve the running track, Stryker said. He said the second phase of construction should be complete by 2015. A third phase depends on students’ ability to collect money.
Hurley also outlined 2013-2014 room and board rates for a double room and the standard meal plan, level 3. The semester rate will be $4,685, an increase of $190 per semester, she said.
Read Friday's edition of The Daily Collegian for more details.
