Out with the old, in with the new

A big machine was all it took. A few pushes from the demolition equipment and the building fell. There were no explosions, no fireworks or even a decent eulogy.

The Facilities building was vanquished.

Although its demise on Sept. 28 was unspectacular, the demolition of the Facilities department’s former home will likely have plenty of effect.

The department has been squeezed into a few small buildings for several years. Lacking the space for their growing needs, the facility was not compatible with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“The current facilities building was inadequate for the number of people that we had, and it wasn’t ADA compatible for parking,” said Jim Michaelis, associate vice president for facilities planning. “So we’re going to tear down the old house (the parking services building).”
For the next seven months, until the new building’s projected completion in April of next year, the different sections of Facilities will be split up around campus.

The main administration will reside in the Faculty Annex on the east side of campus, with the construction groups located in some buildings adjacent to the future construction site. Parking Services took up residence at the north end of the free student parking lot over the summer.

This separation has made it hard for the department to work cohesively, but the new building promises to be worth the wait.

According to Michaelis, it will be two stories and have 12,000 square feet. It will also be ADA compliant, with handicapped parking, ramps and other required accessibility features. It even promises to be energy efficient.

Although the old building went down without much noise, the new one will help the Facilities department breathe a sigh of relief.