Monroe Hall’s renovations hit an obstacle when the university received a cost estimate that was significantly over budget.
The university confronted this obstacle in its efforts to expand Monroe Hall when it received the cost estimate by Faithful and Gould, an outside consultancy firm employed by the university.
Bret Jacobs, vice provost for Information Technology and chief information officer, said the cost overrun is approximately 30 to 40 percent over the original budget of $80 million. He added that these estimates are still subject to change.
“The first estimate received by the university was based on design documents. Construction documents, which are required for an accurate cost estimate, have not yet been completed,” Jacobs said.
Edward Kvet, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, said having a cost overrun is not entirely unexpected, but having this much of an increase was slightly surprising.
“You normally expect a cost overrun in the range of 10 to 15 percent due to the estimates being made without actual construction documents. This happens because the firms will hold back monies for changes during the construction document phase,” Kvet said.
Jacobs said the original designs may need to be adjusted for the renovations to continue without any delay.
“The design team is continuing to work with all departments housed in the building,” Jacobs said. “It’s important to develop spaces that meet their requirements and fall within the established budget.”
The university is currently working with the architectural team to solve the issue. According to Kvet, these meetings have resulted in some changes to the design, but nothing that will majorly disrupt the original renovation plans.
“We have made some adjustments in design such as moving the elevators to the outside locations,” Kvet said. “Also, there are changes to the HVAC systems, but we have not significantly altered the basic academic programming for the building.”
During the President’s Convocation Jan. 20, Wildes also addressed the cost overrun and said there would be no delay with the construction and that the total budget would remain the same.
“I made it very clear to them that we will add additional floors to Monroe, and we will stay within the original budget of $80 million,” Wildes said. “It is the job of the three partners, our representatives, the architectural team and the construction team to figure it out.”
Judith Corro can be reached at [email protected].
