The UT Board of Trustees approved construction of a new College of Pharmacy building and an indoor practice facility, which may cost as much as $36 million.
In the fall semester of 2010, pharmacy students at UT will find themselves relocated to the Health Science Campus. Within that same time frame, on the Main Campus, the new indoor practice facility will be built near John F. Savage Hall.
"We are currently in the design and development phase right now, so we're developing the drawings as we speak," said Chuck Lehnert, vice president for facilities and construction. He hopes construction for both projects will start sometime in the spring 2009 semester.
The designing of the new College of Pharmacy building is a collaboration between Lehnert, his team and Poggemeyer Design Group from Bowling Green, Ohio.
The Board of Trustees approved the new pharmacy building, budgeted to cost $25 million, along with the practice facility on July 28.
"We know that with the merger there will be an opportunity for us on the Health Science Campus. It is a rather significant opportunity because of being in the health-science focused environment," said Dean of the College of Pharmacy Johnnie Early. He added that having the college physically there came up a while ago and they have been talking and planning ever since.
"My expectation is that it will take a program that we regard as being excellent to being superior," Early said. "The timing is excellent because of the fact that in 2001, our enrollment has grown by 75% in this college and so we came from about 850 students to about 1,500."
Early explained that pre-pharmacy students will remain in the Bowman-Oddy building, while the professional division will be situated in the new building on the HSC.
The current building will also be used for research and lab work.
"It's a critical need for research space in the Toledo Lucas County area, and it would allow us to be able to provide a research base for our faculty and students but also enhance research abilities throughout the community," said Ken Long, associate vice president of budget and planning.
He said the extra space would be a huge asset for the Toledo community.
"Putting the College of Pharmacy on the HSC adjacent to the medical school, it will be a great learning experience for our students," Long said. "It will allow them to collaborate with the College of Medicine and the College of Nursing and create a vibrant health science environment for our students, so I think this is a huge step forward."
As for the indoor practice facility, the board approved the project with a budget of $11 million.
"The kick start was the million dollar gift that we received from Hal and Susan Fetterman," said Athletics Director Mike O'Brien.
"To maintain a competitive place in the market, a football team in particular, all but winter sports will need some sort of indoor facility," Long said. "It's not as if we're in Florida where we can get away with practicing outside year-round."
"During inclement weather, the athletes will be able to come indoors instead of practicing outside, and it will really be a big assistant in the recruiting efforts as well," O'Brien said.
The new indoor athletic practice facility is actually the second phase of the Savage Arena project, according to Lehnert. SSOE Inc., the architecture and engineering consulting firm that worked with the Savage Hall renovations will also be taking on the practice facility project.
In response to a financial concern voiced by trustee Carroll Ashley during the meeting, Long agreed that proper analysis is crucial to keep track of the university's spending.
"We should do a full financial analysis on any project and how to utilize the state money, students' money, tax payer's dollars, and university resources," he said. He said he will also make sure there's financial return on those projects.
Long said one major problem is getting the right financing at the right time. "While you have approval from the board to go forward … one of the biggest challenges is to make sure that you're getting the right price."
"In the absence of funding or someone giving us the money to relocate the pharmacy building, we would probably use bond proceeds to do that. The board has given us preliminary authorization to move forward with the activities," he said.
"It's a wonderful time at the university, an unprecedented time that we want to get all this work done, and there'll be all these new buildings and renovations," Lehnert said.
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