Pitt Property and Facilities Committee Approves Five New Construction and Renovation Projects

The Property and Facilities Committee of the University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees approved five construction and renovation projects totaling $32.8 million at its meeting July 13. The projects are expected to create 179 construction and 72 construction-support jobs. The University will pay building permit taxes of approximately $23,000.

The construction of a two-story, 26,000-square-foot addition to the Engineering and Science Building at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown will accommodate the relocation and expansion of that campus’ Nursing and Health Science Program. The new space, budgeted for $11,867,065, will include a nursing simulation laboratory, six teaching labs, classrooms, and office and support space for the nursing, biology, and chemistry programs. The project will pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

“The new nursing and health sciences building will play an important role in expanding enrollment and maintaining appropriate teaching facilities for Johnstown’s growing student populations in nursing and in other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines,” said Pitt Executive Vice Chancellor and General Counsel Jerome Cochran.

The four other projects approved by the committee are:

• The creation of a health services center, a counseling center, and student pharmacy in the new freshman student housing facility being constructed at the corner of Fifth Avenue and University Place, Oakland. The facility, estimated to cost $3,740,525, will allow the University to provide more comprehensive health-related services to students in a single location and will eliminate the need for the University to continue to lease space in the Medical Arts Building on Fifth Avenue;

•  A $9,429,270 complete renovation and reconfiguration of the University’s Book Center, which has not had a major renovation since the building was acquired by the University in the 1950s. The renovations will improve circulation and flow throughout the sales floor and include the addition of new stairwells and an elevator, a sales and service area for digital technology, and a small café. The Copy Cat center, currently off-site, will be relocated to the renovated facility. Other improvements will include upgrades in the heating, cooling, electrical, lighting, plumbing, and fire-suppression systems.

• The upgrading of the electrical vault substation at Scaife Hall, at a cost of $3,170,000. The substation is the main electrical distribution point for major clinical, research, and academic facilities in Scaife Hall, UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, and Thomas Detre Hall; and

•  The replacement of 900 linear feet of steam distribution and condensate return lines from the Carillo Street Steam Plant to lower campus buildings, at a cost of $4,589,000.