The new elevator undergoing construction in the southwest corner of Sturm Hall is set to be fully operational within the next two weeks, according to Director of Facilities Management Jeff Bemelen.
Bemelen said the second elevator was needed to improve accessibility and allow facilities to upgrade the current elevator in Sturm Hall.
“In all of Sturm Hall, there is only one elevator, and it is dated and needs to be upgraded to current standards,” said Bemelen. “The technology and emergency equipment in elevators changes and we were not keeping up with codes in the old elevator. The only way to upgrade it was to have another elevator in play.”
The upgrade will entail replacing the controls, including the machine room, cab panel and hallway fixtures; refurbishing the inside, including cab fixtures, lighting and flooring; and ensuring the controls and signage comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). According to Bemelen, upgrading the old elevator should take about three weeks, but it could take as long as six.
“You can’t take the single elevator offline in a building like Sturm Hall without impacting a lot of people, especially if it’s an accessibility issue,” said Bemelen.
He added that the new elevator is on the opposite side of the building, so it will improve accessibility to the south side of Sturm in the future.
“We have a plan to renovate the other elevator,” said Bemelen. “We’re taking bids now, but we won’t do it until the summer months when most of the students are gone.”
According to Bemelen, facilities recommended that administration start thinking about a second elevator several years ago. The elevator was added to the facilities capital improvement program and funded in the last fiscal year. The project cost $700,000, which came out of facilities capital.
“We tried to install the elevator last summer, but we ran into some permitting issues with the city,” said Bemelen. “We also ran into some weather issues early on. But that was nothing out of the ordinary.”
Bemelen said facilities started work outside the building in late August and started work inside the building in early October. They are now working with the city on inspections.
“This one will be operating soon and we will try to minimize the downtime on the other one,” said Bemelen. “I think it was a good time to do this and it worked out well.”
Bemelen said facilities has been working on improving accessibility on campus for the last 15 years, and they have already addressed most of the problem areas. He said they routinely update ramps and doorways to improve accessibility. However, there are currently no plans for any other projects of this scale.
“This was a large project. I think it will be a beneficial addition to the building and it will help with access for a lot of people,” said Bemelen. “We also looked at the architecture of the building and I think it will fit in that corner nicely. The architect did a good job on it.”
