“There’s just a few things going on,” Chief Administrative Officer Richard Péwé said.
That’s the understatement of the year — and the next few.
As the renovations of dorms and the building of the Searle Center and new tennis courts near completion, Péwé and his team are looking at the future of campus construction.
“We’ve been very blessed and fortunate to do so many things we have been doing,” Péwé said. “We always try to have money in our hand before we start a project. We also want to be able to raise the money to operate it. We’ve got it down to a science where we can operate it as least expensive as possible. That’s a guiding principle.”
Here are some of the plans currently in the works:
The Chapel ($28.25 million)
Perhaps the most talked about forthcoming project, the chapel’s groundbreaking is already tentatively planned for Oct. 21. Currently, the college is looking to obtain the remainder of the funds needed to complete the project, but once it does, the two-year construction can begin.
“We have some things happening in the next couple of weeks,” Péwé said. “We have a foundation that’s really interested in it; it’s just later than we’d like it to be.”
If this donation does not go as hoped, the chapel work will begin in the spring.
The college is adding additional parking for the chapel and Searle Center on West Street since the Dow Hotel’s parking lot will disappear.
Shooting Sports Center ($3.34 million)
The four-phase plan for the center, a few miles from campus, is in its second step, during which a five-stand sporting clay field is being built, which Péwé described as “golf with shotguns.” Construction on this facility will finish in November. Other additions in the future include an indoor air rifle and pistol range as well as an outdoor rifle and pistol range.
“In terms of comprehensive facilities, it’s probably one of the best. We have just about everything,” Péwé said. “We can become an Olympic training center because we have that kind of facility.”
Dow Hotel and Conference Center ($5.38 million)
The school is in the midst of updating all 36 rooms in the college’s hotel. Currently, Péwé updated one “guinea pig” room to see what could be done with the cinder block walls.
“We did a spec room over these past couple of months,” Péwé said. “We’re getting feedback on what we did to that room.”
To keep the hotel functioning, the update is done in sections. Renovations on the next four rooms will begin in November.
Dow conference rooms A&B have had some work done, but will receive some alterations in lighting and acoustics, according to Péwé.
The exterior entrance and drive will be revamped as well.
Phillips Auditorium ($4.3 million)
The Curtiss Dining Hall and kitchen of the Searle Center make up phase I, a project described by the Collegian as a large dining area, which will allow easy access to Phillips Auditorium. Phase II will double Phillips Auditorium to hold 800 people by expanding it from a pie-shaped slice to a fanned-out venue with an upper balcony.
The auditorium, which could begin renovations in December, is specifically helpful for Center for Constructive Alternative seminars, but is also versatile for musical performances; speakers; and large, student body gatherings.
According to Executive Director of Institutional Advancement Nancy Johnson, however, the auditorium will have a new name.
“We will acknowledge Mr. Phillips in a plaque or some sort of recognition,” Johnson said. “We need to give the opportunity for another donor to name it.”
She added that “several” individuals have already expressed interest in the project.
Student Residence Halls
($13 million for final four dorms)
As the college goes through the process of updating five of its dorms, Mauck is No. 3 on the list based on age and size. The windows were exchanged this summer, but the dorm needs to be upgraded with air conditioning, heat ducts, and non-leaking plumbing. The college will remove sinks from the rooms, modernize the bathrooms, and standardize the “hodge-podge” of carpeting and walling.
“Mauck will probably be the most desirable dorm again,” Péwé said.
Due to the extensiveness of the renovations needed, Mauck may have to be completed over two summers. After that, Galloway and Olds are next.
The Frederick Douglass statue
The Liberty Walk is scheduled to have a new member join its court with Frederick Douglass completing its Civil War section in August.
While nothing is in the work for other statues, people have suggested James Madison for a statue. Péwé said the Liberty Walk could extend to the Kirby Center in Washington, D.C. with a statue of the father of the Constitution.
“You’d think there’d be Madison statues all over that town, but there aren’t,” Péwé said.
While those are the projects with somewhat of a definitive timeline, they are only the beginning of the master plan and the ideas in the works. Other projects are mostly conceptual but currently lack the money to come to fruition.
Townhouses and single family homes
The college has recently purchased more property, especially on Manning and West Streets. The school hopes to clear these lots and sell them to individuals willing to agree to build with certain guidelines, designs in the classic architectural form, and materials. Owners could build single family homes on Manning and townhouses on West.
“The idea would be to have a very natural, beautiful promenade,” Péwé said. “It’d be a great first impression when looking from the town.”
Owners could be a number of people interested in the college’s mission, including those living locally, state and national leaders, friends of the college, and professors.
“People have the opportunity to be close and learn about the higher things. That’s very desirable to people,” Péwé said. “It’s not the weather. It’s the mission and what we do at the college.”
Central Hall Addition
With the chapel completing the quad, buildings will surround Central Hall at 360 degrees. While the front is beautiful, according to Péwé, the designers never intended to complete its back. The college hopes construction on the chapel will spur interest and funds into making the back of Central Hall look more like its front. Ideally, the its back entrance would align with the entrance to the chapel.
“Anywhere you were on the campus, if you were on the new portico of the chapel looking out, everything would look very nice. It would look finished. Everything would revolve around that feature,” Péwé said. “That’ll be one of the most lovely additions to the campus when we get to that.”
Though mostly aesthetic, the addition would also provide some extra space in the building as it wrapped around the elevator shaft.
Mossey Library archival wing
The library has many special collections too precious to be exposed to typical lighting. The two-story archival wing, added to the south side of Mossey, would provide viewing space for pieces from Hillsdale’s history and its inherited volumes.
“The idea is to have an environmentally sound building, which we do not have now,” College Archivist Linda Moore said. “The heat and humidity, the unstable conditions are bad for archival material. It would be a climate controlled environment.”
Knorr Student Center ($2.6 million)
Conceptual plans for Knorr include moving Career Services and the Writing Center to its main level, adding classroom and conference space, and developing a radio station location. Security would move to the lower level, according to Péwé. Exterior renovations could include adding a veranda and fireplace to the quad.
Turf building
A wall-to-wall space of AstroTurf, this building would replace the old tennis courts and outdoor basketball courts. As a multi-purpose fitness center, students and sports teams could use the area for practicing baseball, softball, football, soccer, and Ultimate Frisbee.
“You could have things that you’d normally do in the summer time in the quad; it could take the place of that. We like to do things that would benefit all the student body, ideally,” Péwé said. “How great would it be to play indoor soccer or flag football in the winter?”
The school also plans on replacing the football field’s turf within the next year or so as 2016 marks a decade of use.
Track and Baseball
The current track around the football field is now 17 years old and getting hard.
Ideally, Péwé said he would like to see the track become wider and more circular, moving it to the lower field where baseball currently is.
“When you run around that corner, there’s a lot of G-force, so you spread that out, it’s nicer,” Péwé said, making reference to the construction of the indoor track in the Biermann Center.
Due to the lack of space by the football field, however, baseball would have to be moved. Péwé has suggested transferring that sport to Hayden Park.
Sooner, however, the park might have outdoor fitness stations for push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups to be done there.
“It was very popular in the ’70s. It’s making a comeback,” Péwé said. “You can run and stop at a station and do that station to work on cardio, strength, conditioning.”
He had hoped to install these stations this summer, but time ran out for the upgrade.
Two new dorms
The college has looked into building townhouses or a couple new dorms for students, though dorms are cheaper per bed. According to Péwé, there are 410 students living off campus this year.
“That’s a large number,” Péwé said. “If we had the money…we might have to look at that.”
All of these projects will cost major money. Funds, however, are easier to raise on capital projects than endowments.
“People see a physical thing on campus and can put their names on it. For many people, that’s a big deal. They feel like they’re leaving a legacy with their name on it,” Johnson said. “Having recognition is important, and we’re happy to do it.”
location. Courtesy of Sheila Butler.
