Committee, Board discuss projects
by Adrienne Outlaw
A new computerized database makes it possible for individuals responsible
for campus buildings to access quickly and easily prioritized information
about facilities requiring maintenance or repair, members of the Board of
Trust were told April 25.
During the meeting of the Board's Buildings and Grounds Committee, Jon
Gullette, associate vice chancellor for operations, demonstrated the 1996
Facilities Condition Study Database.
"It's a massive amount of information," Gullette said. "It's
more facilities information than I've seen at any other institution across
the country."
The database will help the University keep its low Universities Facilities
Conditions Needs Index (FCNI). Currently, Vanderbilt has an FCNI rating
of .14, the lowest nationwide among institutions that completed a study
of facilities' needs in the past two years. A total of $97.4 million in
building reinvestment, based on today's dollars, will be needed over the
next 10 years in order for the University to maintain its progress in providing
quality facilities, Gullette said.
The database allows system administrators to enter data on individual buildings,
as well as create and edit building-related projects to specify and estimate
costs associated with correcting building deficiencies. Detailed photographs
and floor plans of each building are also available.
Also during the meeting, Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus Planning
Judson Newbern described construction projects completed since the November
Board of Trust meeting. The projects include the new Chemistry Building
addition; the environmental lab upgrade in Jacobs Hall; the Outdoor Recreation
Center; and the renovated microbiology labs in Medical Center North.
On-going projects include the renovation of Stevenson's Building 5, Old
Chemistry; the completion of the campus fiber optics network; the expansion
of the campus and medical telecommunications switchrooms; the addition of
two student recreational sports fields along Blakemore Avenue; and the medical
staff parking garage with an attached office facility.
Newbern also described a number of projects in the planning stage.
Vice Chancellor for University Relations and General Counsel Jeff Carr
and Director of Community and University Relations Jane Cleveland updated
the Board on the West End Development project. Cleveland noted they have
been meeting and addressing concerns from students and other areas of the
University while carefully considering the development's impact on the campus.
The Houston-based real estate firm Hines has begun the planning process.
Hines Vice President and project officer Thomas J. Danilek said the planning
strategy includes integrating various campus interests into the overall
project design, which is expected to include office, retail and hotel uses
for the University and the Nashville community.
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This document created May 28, 1997
HTML Translation by Billy Kingsley