CMU to put $14 million into building

A major building at Mount Pleasant's Central Michigan University will be undergoing some major renovations over the next two years.

Anspach Hall first opened its doors 44 years ago, and these are the first major renovations the building has seen. It's heavily used as an academic building, so the upgrades will happen over the next two summers to minimize classroom disruptions. All in all, CMU is putting $14 million into the building, approved recently by the college's board of trustees.

The upgrades aim to improve the teaching and learning environment in the building, with the addition of air conditioning, heating system improvements, classroom modernizations and other significant upgrades.

The $14 million for the project is funded by university capital reserves, deferred maintenance, and funds from the budget of the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences. It's part of the school's ongoing master plan, says CMU President George Ross.

"In addition to the strategic planning process, we're proceeding with updating our facilities master plan that will focus on campus renovations and upgrades to some of our older buildings and provide a road map for the future development of our campus," says Ross. "I want to emphasize that student learning is greatly enhanced when we provide the appropriate learning, teaching and living environment. To that end, the master plan will inform us and help us focus on campus facilities, whether they are new facilities or renovations of existing facilities."

Along with the announcement of the Anspach Hall renovations, the board of trustees also approved new construction, on a data center to replace the current data and IT services center in Foust Hall. The new IT center will cost $5.4 million and be funded through university reserves, and will be located near the Engineering and Technology building and the Combined Services building.

Ross says there are plans for more additions to the campus in the near future, as well.

"We recently submitted a capital outlay request to the state of Michigan to help fund a biosciences facility on our campus," he reports.

Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: George Ross, Central Michigan University