$6.8 Million for MACC, Other Kent State Upgrades

About $7 million in maintenance projects at main campus were approved Wednesday by the university's board of trustees.

The board authorized $6.8 million total to be spent repairing or upgrading structural and operational elements at the Memorial Athletic Convocation Center, the Kent State Student Center and at the university's power plant on Summit Street.

The bulk of the money — $3.3 million — will be spent on improvements at the power plant.

More than half of that, $1.7 million, will be used to upgrade the cooling tower at the plant by adding cooling tower cells to the plant. That aspect of the project should be finished by the summer of 2012, according to the resolution approved by the trustees.

The other half of the power plant project, about $1.6 million, will be used to replace a power turbine that has reached its expected lifespan of 25,000 service hours.

Work at the student center is expected to cost a little more than $2 million and will address failing structural components, including masonry repairs and restoration, coping stone and flashing repairs and replacement of failing expansion joints and window sealants.

The student center, built in 1972, was inspected last year by a Cleveland-based firm, which found more problems with the roof, exterior ceiling and other elements. The masonry and envelope work, approved Wednesday, will "target the most critical components" identified in the inspection report, according to the resolution approved by the trustees.

At the MACC, similar exterior facade work will be done amounting to about $1.4 million. There, workers will replace failing glass block windows and conduct masonry and other exterior repairs.

The MACC work comes after the trustees already authorized in March spending $1.25 million to repair the roof of the university's 61-year-old indoor athletic complex.