 |
|
The Foundation for Life Sciences.
The pilings and concrete that make up the foundation of the Life Sciences Building on
the Pullman campus will be completed in October. This site along Stadium
Way was previously the location of the
WSU tennis courts.
|
Olympia
Update No. 2 • September 11, 2006
From: Larry Ganders, Assistant to the President
Printable Adobe PDF Version
The 2007-2009 State Construction Budget Request
Infrastructure for Life:
Completing the Pullman Life Sciences Building and
supporting a long life cycle for existing facilities is the WSU construction
priority.
The 2007-2009 WSU capital budget priority list contains no surprises and
virtually no deviations from what are regarded to be state and university
priorities. Washington State University proposes capital projects that complete
the Pullman Life Sciences Building, extend the life of existing older
structures, protect the lives of students and employees, and provide the vital
infrastructure that is the lifeline to serving the state as a premier research
university.
The Pullman
Life Sciences Building Tops The List
WSU’s largest and top
capital construction project, is $58 million to complete the Life Sciences
Building. It is
the number one construction priority of the Public Baccalaureate Prioritized
Capital List, the combined list of projects submitted by the University of
Washington, Eastern Washington University, Central Washington University,
Western Washington University, The Evergreen State College and WSU.
The request will finish
construction that the governor and the Legislature initiated with a $10 million
appropriation in 2006. With that authority, WSU began clearing the site and constructing the
foundation for the building last May and will complete that work next month. It
now awaits a second appropriation so that the building can be completed in 2009.
The four-story building
on the Pullman campus will bring together academic disciplines in innovative
laboratory settings in the life sciences, predominately researchers on National
Institute of Health-sponsored projects.
The research building will immediately bring some long-sought relief to the
Pullman campus that has less than half of the laboratories required for hands-on
learning by undergraduate and graduate students. And the building will contain
the types of programs that have been identified by Gov. Christine Gregoire’s
Life Sciences Discovery Fund that was approved by the Legislature.
State support thus far for
this project has been helpful in securing
matching federal funds. The Murdock
Trust has awarded a grant for $475,500 for a core research laboratory,
contingent on the legislature appropriating the remaining funds for
construction.
The U.S. House of Representatives has voted for
a $35.6 million appropriation to complete an additional biotechnology building
that would be constructed nearby and share core laboratory facilities with the
Life Sciences building. The U.S. Senate has recommended a smaller appropriation
but Washington’s congressional delegation is optimistic that this matching
building, known as the Agricultural Research Service Building, will be moved
ahead by the federal government.
Other
Highlights of the WSU capital budget include:
·
WSU’s
$38.9 million minor works preservation project and $17 million minor works
program is in the top tier of the Public Baccalaureate Prioritized List, ahead
of all major construction projects.
Minor works program money extends the life of existing facilities and
infrastructure, and allows older facilities to be retrofitted for cutting-edge
research and education. Likewise, preservation money extends the life of
buildings by replacement or repair of elevators, roofs, fire alarms, HVAC,
pumps, masonry, windows, flooring, painting, and building network cabling and
electronics. The request includes health, safety and code projects needed to
protect the lives of students, faculty, staff and visitors and to comply with
occupational/public health, and environmental regulations.
·
The Pullman Campus is
experiencing a critical shortfall in electrical capacity and a deficit of
chilled water production that is solved by
WSU’s $11.5 million utilities extension.
This package is ranked as the fourth project
overall by the six public baccalaureate institutions.
·
Extended
service life and greater capacity to underground utility lines is provided by
the $15 million Library Road Project. It is the seventh ranked project overall
by the institutions. The corridor
project also includes accessibility and safety improvements for enhanced
pedestrian movement and decreased vehicular traffic.
·
Expanded access for Vancouver
freshmen and sophomores. Additional
requests for university-wide infrastructure, intermediate preservation, and a
WSU Vancouver classroom building all rank among the top 26 projects recommended
by the institutions. Construction of the $24.4 million WSU Vancouver building
will be necessary to provide general classrooms and computer laboratory spaces
for delivery of lower division programs and to accommodate enrollment growth.
The building is WSU’s second highest priority for new building construction.
·
Some items on the WSU priority list propose to
design projects that would be built in a later biennium. The top design priority
for WSU is Biomedical Sciences.
The
building will replace crowded, outdated biomedical space with an appropriate
facility for targeted programs including neuroscience, pharmacology, cancer
research and toxicology.
·
Renovation and completion of
several existing buildings are slated for the ensuing biennium including
finishing a Prosser laboratory building for enology.
Other
projects include renovating core campus buildings for academic purposes.
Olympia
Update is produced for persons interested in state government developments
affecting Washington State University. For more information call: Larry Ganders,
Assistant to the President, 360-956-2165. From WSU campuses, dial 8-2165.
