EDINBORO, Pa. - It wasn't a ground-breaking! It was a wall-breaking.
Edinboro University and state officials today (Jan. 22) launched the $29 million Cooper Hall renovation-expansion project with a unique ceremony in which participants smashed a wall - bearing a tartan bulls-eye, no less - to smithereens!
Led by Edinboro University President Jeremy D. Brown and Pennsylvania State Senator Jane Earll, University and state officials wearing protective head and eye gear and armed with hammers, symbolically demolished a dry-wall scheduled to be taken down as part of the long-awaited project. The ceremony was held at 10 a.m. in the planetarium lobby of Cooper Hall.
The 90,000 square-foot Cooper Hall, Edinboro's main science building for more than four decades, was built in 1964-1965 at a cost of $692,000. Named to honor Joseph A. Cooper, the Northwestern State Normal School at Edinboro's third "principal" who served for 29 years between 1863 and 1892, the building's last interior renovation was completed more than 20 years ago.
While the original 90,000 square feet is being totally renovated, the facility will also be expanded by some 30,000 square feet. The renovation, expansion and technological upgrades will transform Cooper Hall into the region's premier, state-of-the-art academic science facility for both faculty and students.
"We know that Cooper Hall will soon become the region's finest academic science building and one of the most sophisticated and technologically advanced in the state," said President Brown.
He pointed out that in developing plans for the renovation and expansion, careful consideration was given to sustainability, including energy efficiency.
"As in everything we do, this project will again emphasize the University's mantra for excellence," Brown said. "That excellence will be passed along to generations of Edinboro students to come."
One such student, Margaret "Maggie" Dicks, a dual Environmental Science/Biology and Spanish major, as well as a STEM Scholar, represented her fellow students in addressing the Friday morning gathering.
Construction, including implementation of a geothermal heating and cooling system and creation of a new greenhouse, will take about two years. The building is expected to be fully occupied by January 2012.
Also on hand for the ceremony were the Cooper Hall project's designers, representatives of Pittsburgh's renowned Astorino Architects, creators of such celebrated buildings as the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, the Cabaret at Theater Square, and PNC Park.
Representatives of the project contractors were also present, including those from General Contractor Nello Construction; Electrical Contractor Keystone Electric; Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning Contractor Renick Brothers Construction; and Plumbing Contractor William T. Spaeder Company.
Also participating in Friday's ceremony were Edinboro Vice President for Finance and Administration Gordon J. Herbst, and Teresa Koon, Chief of Staff for State Representative John Evans, an Edinboro University trustee who helped secure necessary funding for the Cooper Hall project.
Cooper Hall, when completed, will house departmental offices for various science faculty, lecture halls, classrooms and instructional laboratories. It will also house the planetarium, observatory and a new greenhouse that will contribute to a Living-Learning environment designed to facilitate teaching and research opportunities related to sustainability.
Edinboro University is currently in the midst of a five-year construction window during which some $200 million is being spent on physical campus improvements in the areas of academics, sports and recreation and student housing.
"Our physical plant and resources are now beginning to rival the faculty excellence that our students have long found in their classrooms," President Brown said. "The Cooper Hall renovation and expansion project is just the latest in the series of great things happening at Edinboro.
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Butler Buildings - Building in a New Lightby NelloConstruction822 views
Nello is beginning foundation work this week on the addition part of the project (totals 60,000 sq. ft.). Nello will also perform 100,000 sq. ft. of renovations.
NelloConstruction 1 year ago