UNK gets $36.4M for science and child care buildings

Updated 12 AM01-28-2017

KEARNEY - The University of Nebraska Kearney campus will soon be getting another facelift.

The University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved construction Friday of two new state-of-the-art structures for $36.4 million to replace the aging Otto C. Olsen Building, which houses several colleges and programs, including the College of Education Early Childhood Education Center.

"This is an exciting time for advancement of our ongoing capital renewal program, with a focus on improving our facilities to meet the needs of our students, especially in high-end technology," said UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen in a news release. "Otto Olsen, which sits in the center of our campus, has not served our needs for some time. This combined project has been anticipated and planned for many years, and we are eager to take this great leap forward in technology."

The largest portion of the two-building project is the new Otto Olsen replacement - yet to be named - that will feature state-of-the-art labs for virtual design/construction simulation, mechanical products and mechatronics, hydraulics/pneumatics, computer sciences, applied sciences, physics, engineering and research, in addition to a full-motion simulator and ITEC Testing Center. That building will be about 80,000 square feet and is projected to cost $30 million. It could be complete and open by October 2019.

According to the program statement, the project proposes the demolition of Otto Olsen, a 66,000-square-foot building in desperate need of renovations. Otto Olsen currently does not comply with building codes, including fire and life safety and ADA compliance.

When Otto Olsen was designed, it was meant to house courses in carpentry, metalwork and home economics - none of which are taught on UNK's campus anymore. Classes in industrial technology and computer science replaced those classes long ago. With the growth in those programs, Otto Olsen has become a tight fit.

Space isn't the only issue plaguing Otto Olsen. Years of deferred maintenance have left the building in disrepair, and the building is also too narrow for many of the functions it needs to house, making it difficult to justify a major renovation, UNK leaders said in the program statement.

It's wiser to tear it down, they said, and replace it with two new buildings on opposite sides of the campus. In Otto Olsen's place, UNK will create a concrete surface parking lot, enhanced green space or a combination of the two.

One of the buildings that would replace Otto Olsen would be a science, technology, engineering and math-inspired facility. It would be built on the west end of campus between the West Center Building and the Health Science Education Center and would be two-three stories tall, according to the program statement.

It would house UNK's Industrial Technology, Interior Design, Aviation, Computer Science and Information Technology, Mathematics and Statistics, and Physics, Astronomy and Engineering programs. The STEM-focused building would allow for targeted research and integration among the various programs. It would the first of its kind to serve rural Nebraska.

In addition to the STEM building, UNK is proposing a $6.4 million, 17,800-square-foot Early Childhood Education Center in University Village, just south of West U.S. Highway 30. The facility would have the capacity to support 152 children - triple the capacity currently housed in Otto Olsen.

The Otto Olsen child-care center is capped at an enrollment of 50 young children, leaving a long wait list for students and faculty who would like to enroll their little ones in the program.

"While the STEM building is the most exciting and will have the most direct impact on students, UNK is also very excited for the improvements to the Early Childhood Education Center," said Kelly Bartling, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Communications and Community Relations at UNK.

It will be more than a day-care center and will have a lab environment where students can learn best practices, according to Bartling.

The increased capacity of the new facility would also greatly expand the options for child care in Kearney, which has been at a significant deficit for years, Bartling said.

While the focus of the project is on the STEM and Early Childhood programs, several other buildings would also see a renovation of sorts. The non-STEM programs currently housed in Otto Olsen would be relocated to existing buildings. STEM programs such as Mathematics and Statistics, now housed in buildings such as Founders Hall, would be relocated to the STEM building.

With the relocation of Math and Statistics to the STEM building, Founders Hall, home of the Social Work program, would have extra space for six graduate and undergraduate Small Group Collaboration Social Work Spaces, areas that are impossible to carve out under the current setup.

The collaboration spaces would allow students to work together near faculty and classrooms, and would function similar to the collaboration spaces in the recently built Health Science Education Complex.

Current programs would also be expanded and would include a collaborative Masters in Social Work Degree program with the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Other buildings on campus would see similar adaptation of space.

The improvements to UNK's campus come at a time of fiscal uncertainty for the NU system. Gov. Pete Ricketts stated in his State of the State address earlier this month that the 2017-2019 budget package includes reductions for a number of state agencies, including NU. Under Ricketts' proposal, funding to the NU system could be reduced by as much as $12 million next year.

NU President Hank Bounds has said because of rising costs, that $12 million reduction in funding could amount to a budget gap of nearly $50 million by 2019.

Bounds says NU leadership has already engaged each campus in discussions on budget reductions.

According to the program statement, funding for construction of the STEM building and Early Childhood Center would be coming from a mix of private and state funds.

With today's approval, final designs will be developed, with construction beginning as soon as possible.

angelica.leicht@kearneyhub.com

Updated 12 PM 01-27-2017:

KEARNEY - The University of Nebraska Kearney campus will soon be getting another facelift.

The University of Nebraska Board of Regents today (Friday) approved construction of two new state-of-the-art structures to replace the aging Otto C. Olsen Building, which houses several colleges and programs, including the College of Education Early Childhood Education Center.

According to the program statement, the project proposes the demolition of Otto Olsen, a 66,000-square-foot building in desperate need of renovations. Otto Olsen currently does not comply with current building codes, including fire and life safety and ADA compliance.

When Otto Olsen was designed, it was meant to house courses in carpentry, metalwork, and home economics - none of which are taught on UNK's campus anymore. Classes in industrial technology and computer science replaced those classes long ago. With the growth in those programs, Otto Olsen has become a tight fit.

Space isn't the only issue plaguing Otto Olsen. Years of deferred maintenance have left the building in disrepair, and the building is also too narrow for many of the functions it needs to house, making it difficult to justify a major renovation, UNK leaders said in the program statement.

It's wiser to tear it down, they say, and replace it with two new buildings on opposite sides of the campus. In Otto Olsen's place, UNK will create a concrete surface parking lot, enhanced green space or a combination of the two.

One of the buildings that would replace Otto Olsen would be a $30 million Science Technology Engineering and Math - inspired facility. It would be built on the west end of campus between the West Center Building and the Health Science Education Center, and would be two-three stories tall, according to the program statement.

It would house UNK's Industrial Technology, Interior Design, Aviation, Computer Science and Information Technology, Mathematics and Statistics, and Physics, Astronomy & Engineering programs. The STEM-focused building that would allow for targeted research and integration among the various programs. It would the first of its kind to serve rural Nebraska.

In addition to the STEM building, UNK is proposing a $6.4 million, 17,800-square-foot Early Childhood Education Center in University Village, just south of West U.S. Highway 30. The facility would have the capacity to support 152 children - triple the capacity currently housed in Otto Olsen.

The Otto Olsen child-care center is capped at an enrollment of 50 young children, leaving a long wait list for students and faculty who would like to enroll their little ones in the program.

"While the STEM building is the most exciting and will have the most direct impact on students, UNK is also very excited for the improvements to the Early Childhood Education Center," said Kelly Bartling, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Communications and Community Relations at UNK.

It will be more than a day-care center and will have a lab environment where students can learn best practices, according to Bartling.

The increased capacity of the new facility would also greatly expand the options for child care in Kearney, which has been at a significant deficit for years, Bartling said.

While the focus of the project is on the STEM and Early Childhood programs, several other buildings would also see a renovation of sorts. The non-STEM programs currently housed in Otto Olsen would be relocated to existing buildings. STEM programs such as Mathematics and Statistics, now housed in buildings such as Founders Hall, would be relocated to the STEM building.

With the relocation of Math and Statistics to the STEM building, Founders Hall, home of the Social Work program, would have extra space for six Graduate and Undergraduate Small Group Collaboration Social Work Spaces, areas that are impossible to carve out under the current setup.

The collaboration spaces would allow students to work together near faculty and classrooms, and would function similar to the collaboration spaces in the recently built Health Science Education Complex.

Current programs would also be expanded and would include a collaborative Masters in Social Work Degree program with the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Other buildings on campus would see similar adaption of space.

The improvements to UNK's campus come at a time of fiscal uncertainty for the NU system. Gov. Pete Ricketts stated in his State of the State address earlier this month that the 2017-19 budget package includes reductions for a number of state agencies, including NU. Under Ricketts' proposal, funding to the NU system could be reduced by as much as $12 million next year.

NU President Hank Bounds has said because of rising costs, that $12 million reduction in funding could amount to a budget gap of nearly $50 million by 2019.

Bounds says NU leadership has already engaged each campus in discussions on budget reductions.

According to the program statement, funding for construction of the STEM building and Early Childhood Center would be coming from a mix of private and state funds.

angelica.leicht@kearneyhub.com