Royal Purple

Issue date: 3/19/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Alison Wisneski A construction worker welds a piece of the new College of Business and Economics building, also known as Hyland Hall. Hyland Hall is scheduled to open the summer of 2009. The building is currently on schedule.

Construction for Hyland Hall, the new College of Business and Economics building, is well underway and will replace Carlson Hall upon completion.

According to the COBE Web site, the building will cost $41.1 million, $6.2 million of which was raised from donations.

"We are well within budget," said Associate Dean of COBE Don Zahn. "We cannot exceed budget unless we raise our private dollars, and even then we need state approval."

Of the money raised, not a penny has come from student funds.

"Student monies have not been used for [Hyland Hall] like the [University Center]," Zahn said.

As well as staying within the budget, the Hyland Hall project is progressing very well.

"Things seem to be on schedule; they're making great progress everyday," Zahn said.

Ken Kramer, a supervisor for Facilities Planning and Management on campus, agreed with Zahn's assessment.

"Considering the winter we had, we're doing very well," Kramer said. "The contractors are all making good progress."

"There were some real cold days in the winter where they had to back off and not do some things they wanted to do," Zahn said. "Now that the weather is getting nicer, they are picking up and moving right along."

Kramer said students will be able to see the work progressing from the outside of the building.

"By the end of the month we should have all the concrete poured inside the building, and brick work [will be] going on very shortly," Kramer said. "Relatively soon, you'll be seeing window framing units going into the window frames, then we'll measure for glass and order that. At the end of April and early May we hope to have the whole thing roofed."

Another addition to the building students may have sighted is a Christmas tree and American flag at the top of the new building. Kramer said this is a tradition of the steelworkers.

"When they install the last structural member, they mark it with a Christmas tree and an American flag and have a little ceremony," Kramer said.

Kramer explained the ceremony included several people from the university and business college.

Photographs of the building's construction as well as other information about Hyland Hall can be found at the COBE Web site. People can view video updates, look through live cameras and at interactive floor plans.

The building is scheduled to open in the summer of 2009.

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