Renovations top priority in Pitt plan

When Pitt looked into the future 10 years ago, it never knew the Petersen Events Center… When Pitt looked into the future 10 years ago, it never knew the Petersen Events Center would replace Pitt Stadium.

But during the course of an intensive construction plan for updating campus facilities, Heinz Stadium sprung to life on the North Shore, the idea for turning the O.C. lot into a basketball facility vanished and the need to renovate Pitt Stadium became the possibility of building the Petersen Events Center.

Pitt recently ended that 10-year construction plan and has now developed new goals for the future.

University administrators announced a $1 billion plan this year, foreseeing construction projects until 2018 that will renovate existing buildings and construct new buildings across campus and at all five Pitt branch campuses.

Robert Pack, vice provost for academic planning and resources management, said the plan focuses on renovations of buildings instead of constructing anew.

But the estimated costs and renovations to be completed are in fact minimal, and changes in ideas, costs and funding will evolve as time goes on, he said.

For now, a building added to Salk Hall will be the only new academic building foreseen in the project. This will cost about $45 million, according to a University press release.

Pitt plans to address University academic needs with the 12-year plan, including problems in research laboratories and classrooms.

Pack said Benedum Hall and the physics and science buildings on O’Hara Street are high priorities and require major renovations.

The facilities will be gutted on the inside and reconstructed so that classes, offices and labs in the buildings will be more efficiently located. More than $100 million total will go to these two projects, the press release said.

The largest chunk of change for one project goes to the Clapp/Langley/Crawford building complex, with a $72.5 million projected cost to renovate heating, cooling and ventilation systems in the buildings.

Some funding for the major renovation projects will come from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pack said. Pitt will receive $240 million total, or $20 million per year, for capital funding of the projects.

The projects should also attract donors to name buildings and facilities, generating more revenue.

The rest will come from the University and will be absorbed into Pitt’s debt capacity or borrowed from the state.

Pitt looks to upgrade athletic programs by finding new on-campus facilities for some varsity teams in need of new homes, Pack said. Track and soccer teams have no on-campus venues for competition, and the baseball and softball teams play at Trees Field.

The long-term nature of the facilities renovation plans will not allow students with four-year undergraduate careers to witness immediate results, Pack said, aside from needed year-to-year building updates.

Renovations must be made to campus facilities each year so they remain up to code and keep Pitt competitive.

While Pitt will renovate HVAC systems in campus buildings to follow regulations, reorganizing the infrastructures of buildings will improve academic programs.

Pack said attracting quality students to the campus is a driving force behind the 12-year plan.

“Faculty want better students, students want better faculty,” he said.

Also, Pack said the plans address the “quality of life” of students by updating residence halls, dining halls and recreation spaces.

However, some of the funding for this construction will come directly from students who pay fees to use the services, he said.

When asked to address the rising tuition costs associated with added fees and University spending, Pack said, “We look carefully at tuition, and it is quality versus cost.”

“There’s a reason why Pitt is more expensive than other schools. It is an investment in a high-quality education,” he said.

Although Pack said he did not know the amount Pitt gives in aid to students each year, he added, “Every time we raise tuition, we divert a lot of money to financial aid. It is a priority of the capital campaign.”

The capital campaign solicits alumni and friends for donations and gifts to the University. Donors have given more than $1 billion to the campaign, and its goal presently stands at $2 billion.

As of January 2007, endowments funded through the capital campaign included the development of 373 new scholarships and fellowships and 88 new faculty chairs and professorships.

“When this is over, the University will be in a better place than it is now. The process of improvement is continuous,” Pack said.