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Printer-Friendly ModePioneer renovation underway
June 26, 2006 —
Demolition is underway for the $16 million renovation and addition of Pioneer Hall that is intended to accommodate the growing needs of the University's mechanical and electrical engineering programs.
Much of the building has been gutted in preparation for the remodel and 28,000 square foot, two-story addition to the south side of the building.
The first floor of the addition will house engineering labs while the second floor will be used for faculty offices. The current area - about 44,000 square feet - will be for more typical use such as classrooms.
The entire project is scheduled to be near completion by August 2007.
Approximately $12 million of the total cost of the project will be funded by the state of Michigan with SVSU covering the remaining $4 million. The updates look to modernize the almost three-decade-old building that has not seen much improvement since it first opened during the winter semester in 1978.
In the meantime, faculty offices and labs once housed in Pioneer have been relocated in what Gerald Stuart, director of Engineering Services, calls "the biggest move we've ever done."
Stuart estimates that the move took approximately three months when figuring all the planning required beforehand.
Faculty offices were relocated to South Campus Complex buildings B and C while the electrical engineering labs were moved to temporary portable buildings. The mechanical engineering labs were moved to the old theatre, which required renovations itself in order to accommodate its new occupants.
Upon the completion of Pioneer, the theatre is scheduled to be converted to a studio for the Art Department.
In addition to the work on Pioneer Hall, parking lots J4 and F are scheduled to be repaved with work on J4 already underway.
The baseball and softball fields will be getting new bleachers and dugouts, and a new concession stand and restrooms building on the north side of the football field is scheduled to be ready by homecoming.