DU officials said Thursday that construction of the Academic Commons at Penrose Library is not delayed and will continue as planned, though funding and the official cost remain uncertain.

“We currently think that we should be able to start moving into the completed building by the end of January 2013,” said Nancy Allen, Dean of the Academic Commons.

The exterior of the library, which contractors had aimed to have near completion by the day of the presidential debate, is still several months from completion, according to Rodgers.

According to Allen, this has been expected for several months.

“It’s been clear for a long time that the exterior would not be done by the first week of October,” said Allen.
The plan was never to have the exterior finished, but to look as near completion as possible in time for the debate, according to Rodgers.

Rodgers said a major factor was unpredictable weather, which partially delayed construction. However, he said some of the plans were altered to provide more space for DebateFest activities.

Specifically, the decision was made to not complete the west side porch in order to allow for more room for DebateFest to take place.

“Ultimately, there was a debate schedule and a library schedule and they just did not match up,” said Rodgers.
According to Allen, the library is still on track to be completed by the end of January 2013.

“If things continue to go as scheduled,” she said, “we should open for business at the beginning of the spring quarter.”

However, according to Rodgers, “done,” in construction terms, has a more flexible definition. He said the exterior would likely appear done just before winter break, with the interior not far behind.

The final completion of the library will be determined by contractors, who must review the building before staff moves in during January.

Rodgers said there is also a strong chance that limited construction would be continuing even as students and faculty begin to use the library and continuing into March or April.

He said the contractors are given a one year lease to allow them to continue to make necessary alterations and additions to the building.

“We are always skittish about work being completed, and that is not atypical for a project such as this,” said Rodgers.

According to Allen, the Board of Trustees and the Chancellor have increased the construction budget for the library “several times” since the initial planning.

“It is not atypical to have more put into a project,” said Rodgers. “We are still getting parts for the project and assessing which to use.”

Rodgers said the funding for the library is established so the necessary amount of funding is available and set aside.

However, Rodgers said the final cost of the project is still being determined as they move through selecting additional equipment which is needed, leaving the final budget uncertain.

According to Allen, funding for the new Academic Commons has primarily come from private fundraising, divisional funding throughout the university and internal funding from Facilities Management for building projects and maintenance.

According to Rodgers, the development of the Penrose project has, despite the investment in time, money and resources, not largely impacted development of other projects across campus.

“Because of the state of things the library has the biggest felt impact on campus, in the last couple of years, but I am not aware it has impacted any other project,” he said.

Allen also said that the diverse funding symbolizes the enthusiasm the entire University has for its new library.

“I am really looking forward to opening day,” said Allen. ”Students who were used to the old Penrose library will be in for a big surprise, because there are so many improvements.”