BY KAHLA STATEMA | Staff Reporter | The Statesman
UMD has been under construction for the past couple of years, updating and upgrading various parts of the campus. Most recently the Kirby Student Center was completed and the Ven Den was renovated last spring.
Cina Hall is the next part of UMD to receive a face-lift.
Cina Hall is undergoing a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) project along with the removal of asbestos and other hazardous materials.
New flooring will be added throughout Cina Hall. New ceilings will be put in after the asbestos is completely removed and energy efficient lighting will be installed.
“Inside Cina all the ceilings are gone,” John Kessler, the project manager for the Cina Hall renovations, said.
A fire sprinkler system will be added and the fire alarm system will also be updated.
You may see white walls blocking off the entries to Cina Hall near the Northern Shores Coffee House and the Tweed Museum.
“Right now it’s basically like that building doesn’t even exist. It’s cut right out of that part of campus,” Kessler said.
After all of the hazardous materials are removed contractors will begin installing ductwork, or the ventilation and heating system.
Construction on Cina Hall began in July after facilities management moved out classrooms, offices and departments, but the project began back in 2014 with funding from the state.
“We had to move people starting in June,” Kessler said. “We probably moved the last people out second week of July.”
The end of construction will be next summer just in time for the fall semester.
The same designers and contractors for the Cina Hall project are pricing an upgrade for the HVAC system in the Tweed Museum. Renovations will begin in January and end in April.
Additional construction includes an extensive renovation of the first floor which will accommodate the American Indian Learning Resource Center Synergy Program, a future project that is in the works. This renovation will include a building addition to Cina Hall and the Tweed Museum where the coffee shop’s outdoor patio currently sits.
The Tweed Museum will also be receiving an HVAC upgrade. According to Ken Bloom, the Director of the Tweed Museum of Art, museums must have proper ventilation for the exhibitions they present, such as Shakespeare’s First Folio Exhibition, which the Tweed will host in October of 2016.
As for the progress of the construction, “So far, so good,” Kessler said.