Collegiate Construction
Multimillion-dollar projects are underway at colleges and universities all over Indiana. Check out some of the big developments happening right now.
$140m – Purdue’s Engineering and Polytechnic Gateway
Architect: BSA Lifestructures
Construction Manager as Constructor: Shiel Sexton
A $40 million grant from Lilly Endowment helped kick start Purdue University’s $140 million Engineering and Polytechnic Gateway Complex project. The complex will include two buildings comprising 255,000 square feet of space. Once complete, the complex will help Purdue meet its goal of expanding opportunities for talented STEM students who apply to attend Purdue each year but are turned away because of lack of space.
The complex is being designed as an interdisciplinary hub that will connect project-based instructional laboratories, design studios, and other collaborative spaces. Embedded in the project will be the Hoosier Hot Corner, a physical “front door” to connect Indiana companies as they collaborate with faculty researchers, hire students as interns, and identify future full-time employees.
The facility will be built on the site of the current Nuclear Engineering Building and Michael Golden Labs and will more than double the space at that location and become the academic home for schools from both the College of Engineering and the Purdue Polytechnic Institute.
In addition to the Lilly Endowment grant of $40 million, the project is being supported by $60 million from the state of Indiana, and the remaining $40 million will be raised in private donations. The project is expected to be complete and occupied by December 2022.
$100M – Butler’s Largest Capital Project Yet
Architect: BSA Lifestructures
General Contractor: Pepper Construction
Construction has begun on the first phase of Butler University’s largest capital project to date; the $100 million renovation and expansion of the university’s science complex. The new building will be state-of-the-art, and will feature new high-tech classrooms designed to promote learning by doing, labs that mimic the set-up at top research companies, and work spaces meant to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration. The facility will reflect the interdisciplinary nature of science, and eliminate labs designed for a single purpose. Overall, the project is expected to take about 36 months.
The initial phases of the project began in autumn and have an expected 18-month timeline. Phase 1 will add nearly 44,000 square feet, as well as a nearly 13,200 square-foot atrium. Phase 2 of the project will include renovating and repurposing the Holcomb Building. And later, phase 3 will involve a complete renovation of Gallahue Hall, which currently houses several science departments and has not been renovated since its construction in 1973.
$15M – Marian’s New Residence Hall
Architect: Browning, Day, Mullins, Dierdorf
General Contractor: Browning Construction
Marian University recently announced the upcoming construction of a new residence hall on the westside campus that will be named Caito-Wagner Hall. The new building will be a 57,000 square foot facility that will house 210 students in 112 rooms when it opens in August 2021. It will include a bell tower dedicated to the Sisters of Saint Francis, Oldenburg, Indiana – Marian’s founder and sponsor – that will be the highest point of elevation on campus. Construction on the project is set to begin in spring of 2020.
In 2015, Marian publicized a ten-year strategic plan that included a goal of doubling the university’s number of annual graduates. In the four years since publicly announcing the goal, the number of graduates has increased by more than 39 percent. After completing construction of Caito-Wagner Hall in 2021, Marian will begin a multi-phased renovation of Doyle Hall, the oldest residence hall on campus, transforming it into a more modern living space.
$13M – Wabash College’s New Stadium
Architect: DLR Group
Construction Manager: FA Wilhelm Construction
Construction is underway on the new Wabash College football stadium. The new $13 million Little Giant Stadium will include seating for 3,550 fans in the main grandstand, suites, and the W Club Lounge. The new facility will also include game operations and media booths, a relocated scoreboard, a new playing surface, and all-weather track, and expanded restroom and upgraded concession areas.
The new Little Giant Stadium is being designed by the DLR Group in Kansas City, which has a proven record of excellence in stadium design for more than 30 years. Indianapolis-based FA Wilhelm Construction will serve as the project’s construction manager.
The new stadium will include four suites and the W Club Lounge on the second level, accessible via an elevator. Within the main concourse will be a Hall of Giants, which will pay tribute to Wabash’s accomplishments in intercollegiate athletics. The new facility is scheduled to open in September 2020.
$10M – IU’s New Architecture Building, 1950s Design
Architect: Thomas Phifer and Partners
General Contractor: TBD (As of October 2019)
The Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design at Indiana University has announced the design and construction of a new $10 million building that was originally planned for the IU Bloomington campus in the 1950s. The new 10,000-square-foot building will be based upon a little-known design by the legendary architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who is regarded as one of the founders of modern architecture.
In 1952, Mies developed the concept for a glass-walled structure on the Bloomington campus. The original Mies design was not built in the 1950s and was largely forgotten until Sidney Eskenazi, who was an IU student in 1952, mentioned his knowledge of the design. After extensive research, plans and documentation for the building were uncovered. Those original designs will inform the design and engineering work for the planned new construction.
The new building will be located at the northwest corner of Seventh Street and Jordan Avenue on the Bloomington campus. It is expected to be completed in June 2021.
$7M – VU’s New Agricultural Center
Architect: Andrew Young, VU Director of Architectural Services and Facilities
General Contractor (Phase 1): Wolfe Construction
General Contractor (Phase 2): Danco Construction
Vincennes University recently celebrated agricultural partnerships with the opening of its new agricultural center. The new 45,000-square-foot facility will house the University’s VU/PU Agriculture, Horticulture, Agribusiness, and John Deere Tech, and Precision Agriculture programs. VU is one of 16 colleges in the nation with an exclusive John Deere partnership that educates technicians using the company’s latest technology.
The Vincennes University Agriculture Center is located just north of Vincennes. The facility features 13 wooded acres, modern learning spaces, a greenhouse, and bee colonies.
Purdue University’s Food Safety Training hub will also be housed at the site. The two universities collaborate in the VU/Purdue Cooperative Agriculture Transfer program. The Southwest Purdue Ag Center also sits near the Agricultural Center.
At VU, the next generation of farmers and agriculture professionals are preparing in the classrooms and the fields on how to meet consumers’ changing needs, address environmental challenges, and adapt to the technological changes that are transforming the industry. Students are learning innovation farming solutions and gaining knowledge on how to utilize and maintain the latest technology, including drones.
$30 Million – UE’s New Wellness and Recreation Center
Architects: Hastings+Chivetta, Hafer
General Contractor: TBD
The University of Evansville has announced plans for a new on-campus wellness and recreation center. The facility will incorporate spaces for academic programming and community services in addition to traditional fitness center amenities. The open floor plan with floor to ceiling windows will include two basketball courts, a multi-purpose court, expansive cardio and weight training equipment, and a change-in-elevation fitness track that envelops the entire facility.
The location creates proximity to Graves Hall, home of UE’s athletic training and exercise science programs, as well as the Ace CARE pro bono physical therapy clinic which benefits the Evansville community.
The size of the building is expected to be two stories and over 70,000 gross square feet, providing opportunities for enrollment growth.
The wellness and recreation center is a central part of major capital enhancements to recreation facilities. Those include new intramural fields and a renovated Carson Center which will create a state-of the art home for the University of Evansville’s 17 Division I intercollegiate athletic teams. German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium, a renovated, turfed baseball field, is also expected to be complete in the Spring of 2020.
Funding for the new recreation and wellness center and other capital projects will be raised through philanthropy.
