Grauel Building set for makeover; SEMO tackles residence hall repairs

Southeast Missouri State University’s Grauel Building will be a construction zone next semester.

Classes will be held in other buildings across campus while the old academic building at Pacific Street and Normal Avenue undergoes major renovations.

The building is scheduled to reopen in time for the start of the fall 2017 semester, said Angela Meyer, the school’s facilities-management director.

The $3.6 million project marks the first major renovations to the structure since it opened 50 years ago, she said.

It is just one of the projects Meyer’s office oversees.

Two of those projects involve student residence halls.

Major electrical upgrades to Dearmont Hall will be finished over the Christmas break.

Meanwhile, university officials continue to look at how best to use Cheney Hall now that the foundation of the structure has been fixed.

Grauel Building

The Grauel project has prompted some temporary relocations.

English, mass media and communication disorders department offices have been moved to other buildings on campus for the spring semester.

Students who normally would have classes in Grauel Building will be taking classes in other buildings when the new semester starts in January.

“They are kind of sprinkled throughout all the other academic buildings,” Meyer said.

The original asbestos tile in the three-level Grauel Building will be removed at a cost of less than $100,000.

Major construction work is scheduled to begin Jan. 9 after removal of the asbestos materials, Meyer said.

K & S Associates of St. Louis is the general contractor on the project.

“All three floors will be renovated,” Meyer said.

Restrooms will be added on the third floor. Classrooms and office space will be updated throughout the building.

A student lounge will be created on the second level, which is the main floor of the building.

The lounge will be near the Pacific Street entrance to the building.

As part of the renovation, a computer printing station will be installed for students to use.

Currently, students have to walk to the campus library if they need to print academic papers, Meyer said.

New flooring will be installed throughout the building, and all the windows will be replaced. The walls will receive a new coat of paint.

Mechanical and electrical upgrades also will be done as part of the project, Meyer said.

The improvements will allow the university to house all of the English-department faculty offices in Grauel.

Meyer said English faculty offices had been housed in Grauel and nearby Pacific Hall.

Dearmont Hall

As for Dearmont, a longtime residence hall for students, major electrical upgrades will resolve power issues that surfaced early last semester.

On Aug. 29, shortly after the start of the fall semester, an electrical panel failed, damaging a transformer that serves Dearmont.

More than 50 students were relocated to other residence halls. B wing was closed entirely, and students in C wing were told to cut power consumption.

Dearmont’s B wing reopened to students in December.

Power to C wing will be shut down over winter break to finish repairs.

Power to that wing is expected to be restored by Jan. 13, according to school officials.

Spring-semester classes begin Jan. 17.

Meyer said the electrical upgrades, which cost less than $200,000, will allow the residence hall to handle electrical loads required for students who have computers, cellphones, printers and other electrical devices.

“Everything is plugged in nowadays,” she said.

Cheney Hall

School officials are planning for the future at Cheney Hall, an aging structure near the center of campus.

Opened as a dormitory in 1939, the building remains vacant for the second consecutive academic year.

School officials announced in August 2015 the structure would be closed because of problems with the foundation.

SEMO Mudjacking & Piering has installed exterior piers to “shore up” the northwest side of the foundation, Meyer said.

The foundation work was completed in October at a cost of less than $150,000, she said.

Meyer said school officials are studying uses for Cheney Hall as part of the development of a campuswide facilities master plan.

Kathy Mangels, vice president for finance and administration, told the university’s board of regents in September there are several options, including mixed use for administrative offices and as a student residence hall.

School officials said the university has no plans to demolish the structure.

“We recognize the history behind that building,” Meyer said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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