“Will Hill-Murray ever do the academic wing upgrades?”
May 22nd, 2009In my last blog, I talked about several initiatives for the future that will have an impact on Hill-Murray: the Strategic Plan now being updated and an exploratory group formed to investigate the efficacy of alternative energy sources (wind, solar, geothermal) for the campus.
I want to continue in that vein for this blog, focusing attention on what’s been happening relative to our plans for the school’s academic wing.
Academic Wing Remodel
I’ve been asked on several occasions, “Will Hill-Murray ever do the academic wing upgrades?” The answer is, without question, “Yes.” I just can’t tell you “when” right now.
The Hill-Murray School building was built in 1958. Over the years we have put several million dollars into the building that just needed to be done right away–adding a new chapel; addressing code issues; replacing and upgrading lighting and ventilation; addressing accessibility including the addition of two elevators in the building; and updating voice/video/date infrastructure, etc. so that we could enjoy and benefit educationally from the terrific technology we now have in place.
We work from a Master Facilities Plan that has outlined priorities and defined stages of each phase of upgrades for the entire building. As we “worked the plan,” the Sports Center was the next priority, and that has now become a reality.
Next in line on the list is the Academic Wing…all of the classrooms, science labs, library, restrooms etc. We actually have been through the design development stage for the academic wing. That means that the plans are already in place. When this area of the building is addressed we will also need to add a small power house to centralize the utility upgrades that have been completed as well as those that would be needed with additional upgrades. Total cost would run a little over seven million dollars.
It’s obvious that the recent economic times have had an impact on our capital fundraising. My main concern in fundraising right now is the Annual Fund which supports tuition assistance. I’m very optimistic about the fact that we will find a way to address the needs in the academic wing…we just need to be patient. God has provided in the past. I have no doubt He will provide for this project as well. (OK, I’m might be a little impatient about it…but I’m trying to learn.)
Rest assured that we are committed to this next step in our campus development. We will resume a full effort on capital fundraising once our economy improves, and this project is the top priority. And, if anyone reading this blog is a little impatient like I am, and is interested in funding the entire amount or a portion of it, let’s talk!