With capital budgets strained, renovation may be an increasingly attractive money-saving option for many college and universities.
Deciding whether renovation is more cost effective than new construction comes down to a few key questions:
• Can the existing structure support the program?
• Is the structure still sound?
• Is hazardous materials abatement needed?
• Will current occupants have to be relocated during construction? If so, what are the options?
Tom Chung, AIA, LEED BD+C, says it is worth spending extra time to do a thorough investigation of structural issues and infrastructure. “University officials understand this if they have been burned on a previous rehab project,” says Chung, a Principal with Leers Weinzapfel Associates Architects.
Unanticipated asbestos abatement can be a budget buster. Occupant relocation costs can be onerous if the college has to rent an off-campus facility. “You could spend $1 million or more to relocate for two years of construction time,” he says.
Niagara County Community College ran into an asbestos abatement problem in renovating the Rainbow Centre Mall in downtown Niagara Falls, N.Y. Originally constructed in the 1970s as a parking garage, the property fell into disuse and was donated to the college. The structure was a mess, says Peter C. McCarthy, LEED AP, Project Designer with CannonDesign. “It was leaking badly and had mold,” he says.
But the precast concrete structural components were still sound, and the design firm was able to devise plumbing and HVAC systems to fit the structural bones so that only minimal structural alterations were needed. A total gut rehab turned the building into the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute, which has since become a hot downtown destination for foodies, with two restaurants, a pastry shop, a wine shop, and a food-themed bookstore.
If all else fails, try turning to targeted grants. Niagara County CC used a $270,000 New York State Energy Research and Development Authority incentive grant to offset the cost of energy-efficiency measures, notably variable-speed kitchen exhaust hoods controlled by smoke sensors. In 2013, the school saved $38,000 in energy costs from its above-code systems and features.
The lesson: Building Teams would do well to help their college and university clients find grants and incentive programs to achieve best value on energy efficiency.
Learn more about higher education development trends in BD+C's Special Report, “How your firm can help struggling colleges and universities meet their building project goals.”
Related Stories
| Apr 16, 2012
University of Michigan study seeks to create efficient building design
The result, the researchers say, could be technologies capable of cutting the carbon footprint created by the huge power demands buildings place on the nation’s electrical grid.
| Apr 16, 2012
UNT lab designed to study green energy technologies completed
Lab to test energy technologies and systems in order to achieve a net-zero consumption of energy.
| Apr 13, 2012
Goettsch Partners designs new music building for Northwestern
The showcase facility is the recital hall, an intimate, two-level space with undulating walls of wood that provide optimal acoustics and lead to the stage, as well as a 50-foot-high wall of cable-supported, double-skin glass
| Apr 11, 2012
C.W. Driver completes Rec Center on CSUN campus
The state-of-the-art fitness center supports university’s goal to encourage student recruitment and retention.
| Mar 28, 2012
Holden Cancer Center opens at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
The new cancer clinic provides a significant increase in patient space from the prior facility, which was located in an adjacent building.
| Mar 28, 2012
Tsoi/Kobis & Associates developing master plan for UT Southwestern Medical Center
Firm will spearhead strategies for transforming existing in-patient hospital into state-of-the-art ambulatory care facility.
| Mar 27, 2012
Groundbreaking held for Valencia College West Campus Building 10 in Orlando
Project led by design-build team of SchenkelShultz Architecture and McCree General Contractors, both of Orlando.
| Mar 26, 2012
McCarthy tops off Math and Science Building at San Diego Mesa College
Designed by Architects | Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker, the new San Diego Mesa College Math and Science Building will provide new educational space for students pursuing degree and certificate programs in biology, chemistry, physical sciences and mathematics.
| Mar 21, 2012
Iowa’s Mercy Medical Center’s new Emergency Department constructed using Lean design
New Emergency Department features a "racetrack" design with a central nurses' station encircled by 19 private patient examination rooms and 2 trauma treatment rooms.
| Mar 20, 2012
Stanford’s Knight Management Center Awarded LEED Platinum
The 360,000-sf facility underscores what is taught in many of the school’s electives such as Environmental Entrepreneurship and Environmental Science for Managers and Policy Makers, as well as in core classes covering sustainability across the functions of business.
