Funds will complete Discovery I, overhaul Capstone Campus Room
USC’s board of trustees approved more than $20 million in campus renovations and construction during Friday’s meeting.
Among the larger projects are:
– $15.5 million for the completion of the Discovery I building in the Innovista complex.
– $3.75 million to renovate Maxcy College and transform the historic residence hall into an international living and learning community.
– $1.2 million for an overhaul of the Capstone Campus Room.
The projects all face state approval from the Commission of Higher Education, the Budget and Control Board and the Joint Bond Review Committee. Tom Quasney, USC’s associate vice president for facilities, said state scrutiny has recently increased.
“But we wouldn’t put projects up for state approval if we hadn’t thought about them extensively,” Quasney said.
The $15.5 million investment into the Innovista complex will complete the third, fourth and fifth floors of the Discovery I building. USC officials said this will allow medical researchers and three centers of economic excellence to move into the facility. The project will also complete construction on the first and second floors of the building. It will be funded with grants.
The $3.75 million renovations inside Maxcy College include upgrades of an existing classroom, the construction of a dining space and two new suites for visiting scholars, the replacement of the existing heating and air system and improvements and renovations to make two rooms more handicap-accessible. Quasney said the project’s expected completion date is August 2012.
Maxcy College will become the focal point of a new international living and learning community planned by the housing office, said Stacy Bradley, an associate vice president in Student Affairs. It will be financed with housing funds.
The campus room renovations will replace the carpet and lighting, install new audio and visual equipment and remove mechanical air units that were creating disruptive noise, said Quasney. The project should begin this summer and conclude by December.
“We want to create a decent venue to have classes, meeting and functions,” Quasney said.
The board also approved $495,000 for a new roof on South Tower. That project won’t face state approval because its total cost is less than $500,000.
Work will be completed either this summer or next summer depending on how quickly the project is contracted to a construction company. The work will not be completed during the school year.
“Generally if a roof lasts 20 years, it’s time to replace it,” Quasney said. “This one lasted 21.”
Trustees also gave final approval for lighting replacements in Longstreet Theatre, air condition and heating renovations inside the McKissick Museum Visitor Center and laboratory renovations inside the Public Health Research Center.