Nixon approves $10 million for renovations at Southeast

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has signed legislation that will provide $10 million in funding at Southeast Missouri State University to renovate the Grauel Building, Brandt Hall of Music and Rosemary Berkel Crisp Hall of Nursing, the university announced Thursday.

Signed into law by Nixon earlier this month, House Bill 19 contains funding for capital improvement projects at higher-education campuses across the state.

"It's very timely, and it'll allow us to do major renovations needed without having to put the cost onto students," said Kathy Mangels, vice president for finance and administration.

During an appearance in December at Cape Girardeau, Nixon said the money for the projects would be part of $200 million in bonds, split among the state's colleges and universities.

"All of the budget belt-tightening we've done over the past six years has helped us come out of the recession better than most," Nixon said. "But it has also resulted in a backlog of needed repair and renovation projects on our college campuses."

Projects were submitted to the state by colleges and universities throughout 2014 after approval by the Legislature to extend bonding capacity. Southeast submitted a prioritized list of projects to be funded by the allocation, with the Grauel Building being the university's first priority.

"This allows us to continue to upgrade our core academic buildings," Mangels said. "It really provides state-of-the-art teaching facilities for our faculty and for our students."

Repairs to Grauel, which opened in 1967 at the corner of Normal Avenue and Pacific Street, are estimated at $3.5 million to $4 million and will begin in summer 2016, according to a Southeast news release.

Grauel houses the departments of mass media, English and communication disorders. A specific timeline for the work will be set after the Lawrence Group, architects for the project, complete design work. Architectural plans and cost estimates will be considered by the university's board of regents in the fall before the project is bid, according to Southeast.

The project will include upgrading electrical service, increasing the capacity of the HVAC system, renovating clinic and classroom spaces, making modifications as needed to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and replacing windows for better energy efficiency.

Plans for renovating Grauel come at the same time Southeast is planning for a new Center for Excellence in Mass Media, a partnership with Rust Communications, which owns the Southeast Missourian, and KFVS12 to create a hands-on laboratory for students in the university's media programs.

When the 12,000-square-foot center at 325 Broadway is completed, it will house the university's student newspaper, The Arrow, and its television and video production program.

The production facilities leaving Grauel will make room for office space for faculty and teaching assistants in the Department of English and a voice and swallowing lab for the Department of Communication Disorders -- which have been operating out of Pacific Hall -- to rejoin their departments and operate under one roof in Grauel, Mangels said.

While mass media production facilities shift to the Center for Excellence in Mass Media on Broadway, academic spaces and offices for faculty in the Department of Mass Media will remain in Grauel.

Southeast's second priority is renovating the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems in Crisp Hall, the university said.

The work is needed to support the building's renovated teaching and lab spaces and to bring the building into compliance with ADA guidelines.

Brandt Hall, near the center of campus, is the university's third maintenance and repair priority.

Since the River Campus Center opened in 2007 and Memorial Hall was renovated, several university departments have been moved out of Brandt, leaving space for renovating classrooms that can be used by the entire campus, the university said.

The mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems and windows need updating, as do the safety systems, according to Southeast.

Any remaining funds will be used for campuswide infrastructure repairs, including exterior facade repairs, roof replacements and repair or replacement of sections of the utility tunnel system.

klamb@semissourian.com

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