Ball State requests $59.9 million for final Cooper Science renovation phase

<p>Ball state has requested $59.9 million for the third and final phase of the STEM &amp; Health Professions Facility Expansion &amp; Renovation. This phase will help demolish and renovate several square feet of the building. <strong>Kaiti Sullivan, DN</strong></p>

Ball state has requested $59.9 million for the third and final phase of the STEM & Health Professions Facility Expansion & Renovation. This phase will help demolish and renovate several square feet of the building. Kaiti Sullivan, DN

Cooper Science’s facelift may be on the way.

Ball State has requested $59.9 million from the Indiana General Assembly for the final phase of the STEM & Health Professions Facility Expansion & Renovation.

President Geoffrey Mearns presented to the general assembly the 2019-2021 legislative request executive summary Tuesday at the Indiana Statehouse for its biennial budget request.

RELATED: Ball State Board requests Cooper Science demolition, renovation funding

According to documents provided to the assembly by the university, the $59.9 million will go toward various construction projects for Cooper, including:

  • Demolishing approximately 131,000 square feet
  • Renovating approximately 162,000 square feet
  • Renovations to house various STEM departments including physics and astronomy; geography; geology; and natural resources and environmental management
  • Reduce deferred maintenance backlog from $206 million to $106 million
  • Reduce operational costs by more than $1 million annually

Two years ago, the university requested $87.5 million for the second phase of the project, which was approved by the assembly. The second phase expanded STEM facilities and renovated various buildings.

RELATED: Ball State could receive $12.5 million for boost in performance

Other requests from the university included requests of $4.5 million for 2020 and 2021.

According to the documents, since 2005, Ball State will have renovated more than 1.2 million square feet will demolished almost 1 million square feet.

This story will be updated.

Contact Andrew Harp with comments at adharp@bsu.edu or on Twitter @adharp24.

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