Missouri State Undergoes 20 Construction Projects
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — More than 20 major construction projects are underway to improve the Missouri State University (MSU) campus in Springfield.
In the past three years, the school has seen a number of major improvements, including those made to its athletic and recreation facilities completed last year, and this summer is no different. Several projects are scheduled for completion, including the new welcome center, O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center and renovations to various academic buildings, residence halls and auxiliary buildings. Plus, crews are repairing tunnels that carry campus utilities such as data, electrical power, water, steam and chilled water lines.
The Department of Planning, Design & Construction oversees all projects with multiple project managers and construction mangers involved. Locally based DeWitt & Associates is the construction manager for the O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center, and St. Charles, Mo.-based Wright Construction Services Inc. is in charge of the building the new welcome center, according to Ken McClure, vice president for administrative and information services for MSU.
“[The projects] have multiple goals,” McClure said. “For instance, the welcome center is designed to be a first stop for prospective students. We have people coming in each day to find out about the university, so this will be a focal point for them.”
Scheduled for completion this summer, the new welcome center will feature an open lobby, offices, a conference room and a 100-seat auditorium. It will be a digital building, with technology that displays information about the campus.
The O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center is also scheduled for completion in time for the 2015 fall semester. The three-story, 58,800-square-foot will house the College of Health and Human Services’ new and growing programs, including the occupational therapy, nursing, physician assistant studies and biomedical sciences departments, nurse anesthesia program and a multi-disciplinary health clinic.
Other highlights of the summer construction projects include a testing and assessment center at Meyer Library. The new center and classroom is being constructed on the library’s lower level and will be used for student testing required by outside agencies. Another project includes installing four steel canopies over the existing bicycle ribbon racks south of the library. Each canopy will support a small solar array to produce electricity and provide shelter. Work is underway and scheduled for completion prior to the fall semester.
In order to keep utilities running to the new facilities, the construction crew will also repair tunnels north of the Plaster Student Union, which are showing signs of severe deterioration. The concrete top is spalling and is close to failing in many areas, according to the school’s website, any failure of the tunnel top would impact the utilities at multiple buildings on campus.
The university is also completing several accessibility-related upgrades. Improvements will be made in Kemper and Temple Halls, confirming restroom facilities and drinking fountain facilities are in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Grants and cost share programs, major private gifts, reserve funding and money from the university’s general funds will support the multimillion-dollar improvements. The only student fees being used are from students in the graduate health programs. Those funds will pay for a portion of the O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center, reported KY3, a local news station.
University leaders said that the school expects a record freshman class size this fall and that enrollment should continue to climb for its fifth consecutive year, reported KY3.