Towering over the Dow Leadership Center is the silver skeleton of the Searle Center. Below it, the hotel’s rooms seek a makeover, should donor funding pan out.
“We’re mostly focusing on the Searle Center for now, but we’re looking to improve the Dow’s rooms at some point as well,” Chief Administrative Officer Rich Péwé said.
The Searle Center’s construction began in the summer of 2014 and is expected to be completed by August of 2015. By then, the more than $10 million building, with an auditorium, dining room, and conference center, should be operable.
“We’re still not sure of a final date, but construction has gone well,” Péwé said. “A big part of the construction involves thawing the ground out, which is hard to do with it so cold.”
The Dow Center’s rooms have not yet seen the visible and obvious changes of the Searle Center because the college and hotel are busy trying to find the money to complete necessary renovations.
“We absolutely need better rooms,” Director of the Dow Center Teresa Heckenlively said.
So far, the college has only completed a model room that serves to estimate what the renovations can achieve, while painting a picture of the improved quality of the new rooms.
“The model room is mostly to make sure the renovations won’t have too many limitations, and we hope the room looks good,” Heckenlively said.
Heckenlively discussed the issues with the hotel’s facilities, including the dated condition of the rooms, and improvements to upholstery, furniture, decorations, and, especially, bathrooms.
“I think that if these renovations were completed, the hotel would see more traffic,” Heckenlively said.
The Dow Center renovations are not slated for a final completion date yet, and they have not been approved, but both Heckenlively and Péwé said they are hopeful of their groundbreaking. The Searle Center, the college’s current focus in renovations, must be completed before furthering other projects.
Renovations on the new building have displaced events to other buildings around campus, such as the Center for Constructive Alternatives on American Journalism: Yesterday and Today, which was the third CCA to be held in the Bierman Athletic Center.
The new venue offers space and amenities the smaller Phillips Auditorium in the Dow Center couldn’t.
“The athletic department, the catering, and the maintenance, and everyone has been really great, and made the Bierman Center very nice for us,” Director of Programs for External Affairs Matt Bell said.
Bell confirmed the CCAs will move into the Searle Center when it is completed. He, like the rest of campus, said he is excited to see the new building, and is certain that the improvements will help make CCAs better experiences for the students and the visiting donors and parents who attend the conferences.
