University Park, Pa. — Penn State's Board of Trustees on Friday (Sept. 19) received an update on completed and upcoming projects in the University's five-year, $1.2 billion capital construction plan.
The plan, approved by the board last year, guides construction at University campuses for 2008 through 2012.
A number of projects were completed during the 2007-08 fiscal year, including the new Student Health Center, a 63,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility at the University Park campus housing University Health Services and Counseling and Psychological Services, said Al Horvath, vice president for finance and business.
Also at University Park, Borland Lab renovations have been completed to transform the former food sciences building into a facility for the College of Arts and Architecture. Sprinkler systems were installed in South Halls to complete the addition of sprinklers to all residence halls. Additionally, construction was completed on a soccer practice complex at University Park and the Nesbitt Academic Commons Building, at Penn State Wilkes-Barre.
Several projects are substantially under way and slated for completion by the end of the current fiscal year, Horvath said. These include the Cancer Center at Penn State Hershey and a classroom building at the Worthington Scranton campus. At University Park, renovations of Chandlee Laboratory and the Computer Building will be completed by June 30, 2009, along with construction of the Lewis Katz Building for The Dickinson School of Law and the first phase of the Arboretum.
Other projects are also in the construction phase and scheduled for completion beyond next June, including renovations to North Frear Building for the department of biology, Horvath added.
Among major projects currently in the design phase, final plans for the Millennium Science Complex, bringing together the Materials Research Institute and Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, were presented to the board Friday.