WEST LAFAETTE, Ind. – To accommodate enrollment growth in the College of Engineering, the Purdue University Board of Trustees on Friday (Dec. 2) approved planning, finance, construction and award construction contracts for the renovation of the Mechanical Engineering Building. West Lafayette Campus.
The project will renovate approximately 41,000 square feet over multiple floors. Specifically, improved instructional space incorporating labs and classrooms will be relocated to the ground floor and first floor, as well as new collaboration space nearby. Several offices will be renovated, and a new stairway will connect the Mechanical Engineering Building to the Gatewood Addition. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems will also be upgraded.
The renovation will result in increased space efficiency and flexibility while accommodating more students per square foot within the existing building footprint.
The estimated total project cost is $25 million and will be financed from the gift fund. Construction is expected to begin in July 2023, with completion in February 2025.
In other action, the trustees gave approval to prepare to begin the project for a new residence hall at Purdue Fort Wayne. Subject to further and final approvals, which will be sought at a later date, this project will create a new residence hall to meet the growing demand for on-campus housing while enhancing student success and recruitment.
The facility will include approximately 370 beds and will be located in the heart of the Fort Wayne campus. The current campus housing inventory consists only of apartment-style units.
A new residence hall on the main campus is the result of Purdue Fort Wayne’s 2019 Campus Master Plan, which aligns the physical campus with the goals of PFW’s Strategic Plan 2020-25.
Additionally, the trustees renamed Recital Hall the Helen B. Schliemann Hall approved. Renovation of the existing Schliemann Hall of Student Services, which will turn it into the new and expanded home for Purdue’s rapidly growing data science program, is scheduled to begin in February 2023. At that time, the office of the dean of students will relocate. the current Recital Hall as its permanent home. The name change will ensure that Purdue continues to honor the legacy and leadership of Dean Emerita Helen B. Schliemann, who served at the university as director of women’s residence halls, dean of women and director of the SPAN Plan.
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Purdue University is a leading public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s most pressing challenges. Ranked as one of the 10 most innovative universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report each of the past five years, Purdue offers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discoveries. Committed to real-world learning, both hands-on and online, Purdue provides a transformative education for all. Committed to affordability and access, Purdue has kept tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever before to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops searching for the next giant leap at https://stories.purdue.edu.
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