Ball State is spending around $50 million this summer in construction projects alone.
From general campus upkeep to major building renovations, Jim Lowe, associate vice president of facilities planning and management, said the money is well-spent.
Here's some of the major projects to watch for:
Schmidt/Wilson, also known as Johnson B, is currently running on schedule and will be ready for students to move in for Fall 2017. The $28 million residence hall is located next to Botsford-Swinford Hall, which opened in Fall 2015 and cost $35.7 million.
John R. Emens Auditorium's main lobby and front entrance will be closed beginning June 7 for an expansion project. Lowe said the $4 million, donor-driven renovation will be ready June 2017. Upon its completion, it will include restrooms on the main floor and an overall larger lobby area.
Throughout the project, entrances to Emens will be through the Hargreaves Music Building and the Arts and Communications Building, and the Emens Box Office will be temporarily relocated to the Sursa Performance Hall box office.
College of Health, the university's newest college, will have its new building located east of the Ball Honors House on the corner of Martin and Riverside. Groundbreaking is currently scheduled to take place next spring or possibly summer.
Bracken Library requires updates and renovations each summer as well. Currently, the university is upgrading two of its elevators, the overhead sprinkler system and roof repair.
The Jo Ann Gora Recreation and Wellness Center, as well as Worthen Arena, will have LED lights installed this summer.
Maintenance Work is necessary every summer, and the work is typically similar each year, Lowe said. Ball State does roofing, masonry repair and mechanical repair to keep campus buildings in good operating condition.
“I think we have facilities here that are in good operating condition [and] we have facilities that we have been successful in obtaining funding from the state," Lowe said. "The Applied Technology Building, Teachers College, North Quad ... we’ve been very aggressive in doing those types of projects to upgrade them.”
The “normal upkeep projects” total nearly $4.5 million, which Lowe said is typical because it is necessary to keep buildings upgraded. That total does not include internal projects that Housing and Residence Life is doing.
“We have a big asset to take care of here; we’ve got over $2 billion worth of facility here and that takes a lot of money to keep up,” Lowe said. “If you own a house … you understand what it takes to replace the carpet, replace the heating system … it’s an ongoing task and we’ve done it.”
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