UNC Buildings Await Fix-Ups, Modernization

Efforts to retrofit campus buildings will give the University a makeover from the inside out - maintaining UNC's surface aesthetic appeal while modernizing the University's infrastructure.

While critics say the University is struggling to remain competitive in the technological field, officials say improvements on the horizon hold promise for the future.

And it all starts from the inside.

An Agenda for Improvement

Current plans to retrofit and renovate the campus aim for the heart of the matter - the infrastructure.

Steele Building, Saunders Hall, the School of Dentistry, Woollen Gym, the Alumni Building, Howell Hall, Manning Hall and Mitchell Hall are several of the buildings that will receive these internal upgrades, including Internet rewiring and improved lighting.

The renovations are designed to meet new building and accessibility codes; replace existing electrical and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; improve lighting; provide new window treatments and refurbish the furniture.

The campus fiber optic backbone infrastructure - the network that connects campus buildings to the Internet - also will receive enhancements including wireless networking, projectors, sound systems and large-image projectors.

John Oberlin, Academic Technology & Networks executive director, said the renovations will provide a faster network intended to be more reliable and consistent across campus.

In an effort to level the playing field, Oberlin said several older buildings undergoing retrofitting will be rewired, bringing network, television and video services to all offices and floors.

He said the proposed improvements will help keep UNC afloat in the constantly evolving field of technology.

"There are likely over 100 campus classrooms that will receive these technological upgrades from the bond package."

Many projects have been brought to the table because of annual funding shortages.

Director of Facilities Planning Gordon Rutherford said it is nearly impossible to keep up campus buildings - maintenance and repair - on a year-to-year basis. "The cost of such deferred repair gets too far out of a comprehensible reach," he said.

At this point, these proposed capital improvements are estimated to take about eight years.

Creating a Blueprint

The Facilities Planning Department has been awaiting appropriations for years, and now officials are ready to dive head-first into retrofitting projects.

Project Studio Leader Anna Wu said the department has been nursing the renovation plans, waiting for an opportunity to execute the project plans.

"We are touching 21 percent of academic buildings with significant renovations," Rutherford said.

Availability of funding determines when the upgrades begin. The sooner funds are appropriated to each project, the sooner construction can get into gear.

Rutherford said the bond legislation itself specified a cash flow over six years, and UNC's Facilities Planning Department had to develop a schedule to see if the availability of funds matched the proposed schedule for the renovation of these buildings.

"All projects are important, but it is a matter of scheduling, not priority," Rutherford said.

The construction process begins with a committee composed of a project manager and faculty members of targeted buildings which solicits proposals from engineers and meets with several firms.

Three firms are then chosen based on qualifications and are submitted to the Board of Trustees in preferred order. But the contractors are publicly bid, and the board is obliged to take the lowest bidder.

Rutherford said expectations and expenses influence the process.

"The designer selection is quality based, but the contractor selection is a monetary-based system."

Roadblocks to Retrofitting

Rutherford said conditions on campus will be "uncomfortable" during all of the retrofitting projects.

Students and faculty will face inconveniences such as classroom changes and blocked-off construction zones that will begin in 2002 and could span eight years.

Rutherford said the key will be to establish effective communication between faculty and students.

A Web site currently in the works will map out proposed project dates and inform students of the changes and specific renovations.

But Rutherford said two-way communication between faculty and contractors is necessary to avoid campus conflicts.

Although the construction projects will pose obstacles to students making their way around campus, Rutherford and Wu said such construction areas will be roped off for safety reasons.

"The construction staging areas are there to protect the public and provide construction with a safe way to renovate the site," Wu said.

Rutherford said the Pedestrian Safety Committee is active in figuring out the best way for students to navigate around these areas.

Wu also said many issues arise in efforts to balance the impacts of construction, such as parking and utilities.

Because rewiring sometimes involves underground work, parking problems might result if designated lots are blocked off during construction.

Wu said Faculty Chairwoman Sue Estroff is working to diminish future parking problems that likely will result when parts of campus are blocked off for the construction.

And the Facilities Planning Department now faces the problem of constructing new buildings to house students while necessary renovations are being made.

Wu said new buildings will be constructed before retrofitting can get under way to accommodate students that will be relocated during renovations.

"One project is contingent on another," she said.

On the Right Track

Although these proposed renovations are still in their infant stages, officials have set ambitious goals for capital improvements.

Even with some lingering questions, Wu is optimistic about plans already in the works.

"This is the first time we have been able to map out a capital plan - it will have a huge impact."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.