More windows need replacement at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital. Since 2022, the UI has been replacing the hospital’s windows that were installed in 2017 after detecting delamination and cracking.
The Iowa Board of Regents approved the budget increase after a presentation by Rod Lehnertz, UI senior vice president and university architect, proposing a $7.5 million budget increase Thursday. This increases the total budget to $52.5 million for window replacement alone.
According to the project report, the budget increase will cover replacing the hospital’s slot windows, which are nine-story vertical window columns going around the hospital. Lehnertz said this effectively means all the windows, except those on the ground level, are being replaced.
The UI had already been replacing windows on levels three for 11 of the hospital with a $45 million budget.
“What we have found is, over time, they’re all going that way. And so we’re now at this step where this revised budget will complete the replacement,” Lehnerts said in an interview with The Daily Iowan.
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The UI sued the two contractors who installed the windows, Knutson Construction and Cupples Construction, in 2022 due to the window flaws.
“[The] windows were not withstanding and were not performing as specified it would be — as they should be,” Lehnertz said.
Former UI Health Care Interim Chief Executive Officer Kimberly Hunter told the DI in 2022 the UI was relying on the contractors to deliver high-quality windows.
According to Hunter, that didn’t happen.
“Unfortunately, the contractors have not accepted responsibility for replacing the defective windows, so we are forced to file a lawsuit,” she said.
Litigation against the contractors is still ongoing, but Lehnertz said that hasn’t stopped the UI from needing to replace the windows.
“We are pursuing the responsible parties,” Lehnertz said. “We wouldn’t wait until that’s resolved to do this.”
The UI asked the regents for permission to begin planning to replace the windows in 2021, and they got approval to begin with a $45 million budget in March 2022.
The deficiencies in the slot windows were identified by contractor JEDunn, according to the report. Lehnertz said some of the windows were not yet showing failure, but that they will continue to monitor them out of safety.
Totalling $392.7 million to build, the $52.5 million window replacement is the latest increase. The UI was returned money after the Iowa Supreme Court reversed a $12.7 million ruling to Modern Piping, which sued the university due to hospital operations starting before they had finished construction.
Few words were spoken among regents during Lehnertz’s proposal, which was approved on Thursday.