Kansas State University

Infrastructure improvements: University proceeds with K-State 2025 plans, campus improvements

Submitted by Communications and Marketing

Kansas State University is making improvements systemwide this summer. Work varies from major construction projects to various room and lab renovations and life safety improvements.

"Kansas State University's facilities and infrastructure must be able to meet the demands of a growing institution as we become a Top 50 public research university," said Kirk Schulz, university president. "By making these improvements we meet our evolving needs, remain competitive with our benchmark institutions and provide assets to retain and recruit quality faculty, staff and students."

Current and future projects include:

• Ackert Hall. The heating and air conditioning systems in the research quarters are receiving updates, and the building's main electrical distribution panel is being replaced. All work should be completed by August.

• Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art. The project, currently in the design stage, will provide additional space.

• Bill Snyder Family Stadium/West Stadium Center. The second phase of the stadium's renovations will be complete in August, creating additional premium seating and updating ancillary support areas that include: improved broadcasting space and equipment; restrooms; concessions; heating, ventilation and air conditioning; Americans with Disabilities Act compliance; and life safety.

• Bioprocessing and Industrial Value Added Program, or BIVAP building. Room 201 is receiving new fume hoods. Installation will be complete in August.

• Bluemont Hall. A remodel of the hall's northwest entrance is currently in the planning stage and will be complete by September. The remodel is funded through the Kansas State University Foundation. Room 101 also is being remodeled with state funds and will be complete by August.

• Burt Hall. Renovation of Room 110 is scheduled for completion by Aug. 14. It is funded through the KSU Foundation.

• Bushnell Hall. Room 102 is being remodeled into a new telecommunications room and is about 85 percent complete. This project is being funded through local funds.

• Cardwell Hall. Rooms 101, 102 and 103 are receiving updated heating and air conditioning systems. Room 101 is being renovated and should be complete by August. Room 105 is being remodeled and should be complete by August 2014.

• Chester E. Peters Recreation Complex. The addition construction and remodeling work are nearly complete. The entire building is scheduled to be open by August. The tennis courts and recreation center equipment building are scheduled to be complete in November.

• Dickens Hall. The new north entrance door has been installed and the exterior landing will be replaced by the end of July.

• Dykstra Hall. The north wing is receiving new heating and air conditioning systems. This project should be complete by October.

• Engineering Complex. The fourth addition to the complex, which includes Durland, Rathbone and Fiedler halls, is being designed. The new addition is scheduled to be complete in August 2015.

• Equine Center. The KSU Foundation is funding the construction of a new equine education center north of the Manhattan Fire Station at Denison and Kimball avenues. No completion date has been set at this time. Construction on the Equine Center's Stanley Stout Center is complete.

• Feed Mill. Demolition of the old campus feed mill has started and is scheduled to be complete by Sep. 20. Milling operations have been moved to the new O.H. Kruse Feed Technology Innovation Center in the Grain Science and Industry Complex on Kimball Avenue.

• KSU Foundation Building. An interior space renovation to provide child care services is nearly complete.

• K-State Gardens. Improvements are being made to the fountain plaza area. The project is funded through the KSU Foundation.

• Housing and dining services. The Jardine Complex continues to undergo life safety improvements as well as roofing and irrigation improvements. A new residence hall, with 450 beds, and dining center, serving 1,850 students, are in the early planning stage. They will be built between Kramer Dining Center and Denison Avenue and should be completed by spring 2015.

• Human Ecology Research and Innovation Building. The former NanoScale Corp. building, 1310 Research Park Drive, is a new research hub for the College of Human Ecology. No construction is planned at this time, but some remodeling may be needed in the future to meet the demands of the college. Researchers are expected to begin moving in by the end of July.

• Intercollegiate Rowing Center. Funded by K-State Athletics, the center is expected to be complete by September. It will include rowing tanks, rowing performance machines, lockers and showers, offices and a lobby with reception area.

• Kedzie Hall. Replacement of the west stairs will be complete Aug. 9.

• Life safety improvements. This work is being done at the Ahearn Complex, Bushnell Hall and Shellenberger Hall. Work should be completed by December.

• McCain Auditorium. Stage lighting is being upgraded through local funds. Room 204 also is being remodeled and renamed Kirmser Hall. It is funded through the KSU Foundation and is scheduled for completion in August 2014.

• Memorial Stadium. In planning for the K-State Welcome Center on the east side of the stadium, the building's chilled water and electrical systems are receiving upgrades; the Purple Masque Theatre is being relocated to West Stadium and is scheduled for completion in summer 2014; and the turf and track are being replaced through local funding and should be complete by August.

• Nichols Hall. Construction on the building's basement dressing room and Suite 200 are complete.

• Parking lot reconstruction. Several parking lots are undergoing reconstruction. Lot B9 should be complete by Aug. 9, and the lot east of Bill Snyder Family Stadium will be complete by Aug. 2. Minor electrical, camera monitoring and directional signage improvements to the parking garage will be complete by Aug. 2.

• Pat Roberts Hall. Construction of an additional biosafety shower at the Biosecurity Research Institute will be complete in October.

• Recycling Center. Construction on the university's new center will be complete in August.

• Road and sidewalk closures. The steam tunnel under the Claflin Road and 17th Street intersection received a deck replacement. This project is now complete and open to traffic. A sidewalk along College Heights Road will be constructed in August. The crosswalk at Denison Avenue is being reconstructed to accommodate the new residence hall. Both the College Heights Road and Denison Avenue projects are being done through local funding, and the Claflin Road and 17th Street project was through state funds.

• Seaton Hall. Renovation and expansion of the building, including renovation of Room 034, a laboratory, is expected to be complete by September. The lab will receive updated technology and new seating to fit current educational needs.

• Veterinary Medicine Complex. Renovation of the college's library is 20 percent complete and construction on the modular chiller plant is 98 percent complete. Both projects are expected to be complete in August. Construction to Mosier Hall to add an additional telecommunications room, exit stairs for the necropsy lab and three fume hoods to Room L216 -- histopath -- and remodeling of a lobby and Rooms D102, 103 and N212 to meet current research demands will be complete by the end of August. Remodeling of the Mosier Hall research center will be complete by December. The construction on the Mosier Hall Plaza is 95 percent complete.

• Waters Hall. Renovations to Room 126 and Room 129 will be completed in August.

• Weber Hall. Construction of an additional telecommunications space, Room 116, is 85 percent complete. The project is receiving local funding.

• Willard Hall. Construction to reinforce the steam tunnel lid should be complete by the end of the summer.

• John C. Pair Horticulture Center, Haysville. The new building is an addition to the existing center and will have classrooms, research facilities and offices. This facility will house research involving non-row crop plants. Construction is nearly finished.

• Olathe Horticulture Center Irrigation Pond. A water collection pond is being added to irrigate grass and other plant life at the facility. Construction is scheduled to be complete by the end of the summer.

• Kansas State University Salina. Construction on the campus, following the master plan, is expected to be complete in July. The new apartment complex is in need of a program validation by a qualified external company before planning can start. Phase two of the Student Life Center is still in the permit approval and scheduled to be bid shortly. Private donations are funding the construction of the Student Life Center. Remodeling of the Technical Assistance Center is scheduled to be complete in October.