Student Union Building, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
WHILE RECESSIONS CERTAINLY DON'T MAKE capital planning a cinch for campus leaders, construction plans don’t have to come to a halt—even in a faltering economy. In fact, as many know firsthand, it can be a great time to build. Following are dozens of strategies and tactics employed by officials across the country for getting building projects to ground breaking and through construction to completion.
Planning: Right Time, Right Place
1. Take advantage of the downturn. Doane College (Neb.) leaders received an original estimate of $16.6 million for their new sports facility, but the final bid dropped to $13 million due to decreased costs for materials and labor. At Indiana Wesleyan University, officials found that three projects bid out this spring came in at 2007 prices. The reason? It was deflation in materials and commodity costs, combined with very modest labor cost increases, says Brendan Bowen, vice president for operations and facilities planning. “We believe that contractor margins were down as well, since so many contractors were seeking projects just to keep their doors open.” Leaders at Stevenson University (Md.), meanwhile, jumped at the chance to buy and renovate a new but empty office building near campus for housing. The space already included roads, parking, and utilities, but it was built without committed tenants, so the owner was seeking a quick sale. The cost to purchase and retrofit the building to residences was just $15 million. The soft real estate market also helped Rollins College (Fla.), which snapped up a 3.3-acre site with a historic hotel for $9.9 million. The site will serve as a hotel and conference center for the college.
2. Cash in on unexpected opportunities (even dirty ones). Stevenson needed 25,000 cubic yards of clean fill to prep the site of its new gymnasium. Neighbor T. Rowe Price needed to unload dirt left over from a recent building project. Dirt isn’t in high demand when construction activity is down, and it would have cost $800,000 to have it hauled away. Instead, the company donated the dirt (and hauling) to the university, earning the company a $250,000 tax write-off (market value of the dirt). By staying alert to what was happening nearby, Stevenson leaders were able to capitalize on an unexpected, and unusual, windfall.
3. Plan for mixed use. North Central College (Ill.) has proven that combining projects can save money and time. Students there won’t have an excuse to skip a workout, since the new residence hall is in the same building as the new athletic center. The $24 million, four-story Res/Rec building reduced two buildings to one footprint. An estimated $10 million was saved over building separate structures—since just one construction site needed to be prepped and certain spaces, such as the lobby and main entrance, are shared.
Alan B. Miller Hall, The College of William and Mary (Va.)
4. Don’t build from scratch. The admissions office at Capital University (Ohio), located in the administration building’s basement, was less than inviting. Priority placed on building residence halls and classrooms to meet enrollment growth needs meant a brand-new facility wasn’t an option. But finding a new home on campus was. Officials saw the potential in a facilities building used for offices and equipment storage, particularly because of its location on the pedestrian mall built through the center of campus in 2006. Ologie, Capital’s branding agency, helped officials renovate the space to tell the university’s story in a clear, compelling way and immerse prospective students in the institution’s brand from the moment they arrived. The cost of the project, which included infrastructure upgrades, was about $1 million, funded by donations ($250,000) and excess unrestricted reserves from an operating surplus.
5. Get bids on alternate ideas up front. When revamping its math and science departments, East Los Angeles College bid out two options: three new buildings around a central plaza, called for in the master plan, and one new building with renovations to two existing buildings. The second option won out due to cost. HGA Architects and Engineers, which handled the original master plan, is at work on the project, for which construction will begin in 2011. Like options on a new car, bid alternates show the cost of adding or subtracting different features on a project. Having multiple bids up front allows for flexibility as planning continues and may eliminate or reduce the need for redesigns.
