Navigator News

Issue date: 5/1/09 Section: Campus

Media Credit: Drew Baugher The Learning Resource Center, one of the upcoming renovation projects, will begin in the fall.

Lake Land College's campus will be experiencing renovations in the coming semesters. Projects will be underway to remove asbestos and increase energy efficiency in both the Northwest building and the Learning Resource Center.

Over the summer semester, the Northwest building will be completely renovated beginning the day after graduation. Acoustic ceiling panels and more efficient lighting fixtures will be installed. The building will also be linked into the campus's geothermal loop.

"The main reason that we are renovating the building is for energy savings," explained Mike Kasdorf, Director of Facilities Planning.

Such activity will require that asbestos be removed from the structures within the building. Kasdorf stresses that there will be no access to the building during the renovation. Asbestos is a material that is attributed to several health problems.

The Northwest building will also undergo aesthetic changes. Carpeting will be replaced, as well as walls repainted. No longer will pink and red dominate the commons areas. Shades of green and grey are likely to replace the existing hues. Furniture will likely be replaced as well. "It will look entirely different," said Kasdorf.

As Kasdorf went on to point out, a portion of the building will be devoted to the dental hygiene department, which is being transferred to the Northwest building in preparation for prospective renovations of Webb Hall.

Completion of the Northwest building is expected in early August, in time for the fall semester. This will make way for work to be done in the Learning Resource Center.

Energy efficiency and savings are also the motivation behind renovations of the LRC. The building will have energy efficient fixtures installed and will be tied into the geothermal loop as well. New carpet and paint will also be applied.

However, Kasdorf explained, asbestos is also present in the LRC, meaning the edifice will have to be vacated at some point during the semester. Services and facilities within the LRC will be shifted around to other locations on campus while work is being done.

The renovation of the LRC is expected to extend into the spring semester. "The goal is to have it done by the end of the spring semester so that we can move everybody back in and get it ready for use next summer," said Kasdorf.

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