Facilities teams made progress on some big picture upgrades this summer

Summer is typically a time when facilities teams are sprinting around campus, trying to complete a laundry list of projects and upgrades before the start of the busy fall semester. But Executive Director for Facilities Carol Glick says this summer had a little different rhythm. "We've actually been working on a few big projects rather than a lot of smaller ones. And these are projects that really represent a sort of culture change that's happening at the university, so that makes it a lot more exciting," Glick says.

The biggest of those projects is the ongoing first floor renovation of the Renick University Center, which, along with the Mardigian Library and the outdoor space between the two buildings, is being reimagined as a central hub for campus in the new comprehensive campus plan. This summer, crews tackled some of the unglamorous heavy lifting for the project, including ripping up floors, installing new underground plumbing and pouring new concrete. Glick says walls have also been demoed and new walls are going up to create the improved floor plan, which includes several changes to office footprints, a large meeting room for hosting orientation groups and a new public lounge area with a fireplace. Though the scene right now is a construction zone, Interior Designer Sally Hamilton is already working on some of the finishing touches for that space, including ordering furniture and fabrics. Hamilton says the challenge of the moment is "picking out the right maize" to match some of the interior finishes, which lean heavily on the university's signature colors.

The first floor of the Renick University Center is a total construction zone right now. But Glick says the project is currently on track to be completed by the end of February 2025.

Glick says they haven't run into major hurdles - a pleasant surprise in any renovation - and the project remains on track for a late-February reopening of the first floor. One area that's already complete is the Bookstore, which now has a smaller footprint and a new manager, Lulu Owens-Berry, who started this summer. New features include a concierge textbook area, where students can ask about materials needed for their courses, and lots of new UM-Dearborn-themed merchandise.

This summer, facilities teams also started some early design work for the College of Education, Health and Human Services' and College of Business' moves to the main campus in 2026 and 2027, respectively. COB's new home will be the Social Sciences Building, while CEHHS will be housed in a portion of the Administration Building - two older campus structures that will get some renovations prior to the move. SmithGroup, the university's architectural partner on the Comprehensive Campus Plan, is currently working on the redesign for the SSB, while Neumann/Smith Architecture, the university's partner for the RUC renovation, is working on the AB.

Other summer upgrades to check out: Chancellor's Pond got some new plumbing and a new skimmer, and the concrete basin color is being updated from blue to beige to give it a more natural appearance. The Bikeable Campusinitiative also scored some progress, with new signage, sharrows and bike racks, plus resources on the university website to help bike commuters plan their routes. Facilities teams installed new electric absorption chillers in the Mardigian Library, which will help reduce the building's carbon footprint. And with the final bulbs and fixtures going in CASL classrooms this summer, facilities teams completed a multi-year LED lighting retrofit across the entire campus - a project that's expected to save the university more than $140,000 annually in energy costs.

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Story by Lou Blouin