The University of Iowa can start on multiple capital improvement projects, including changes to Mayflower Residence Hall and a new UI Health Care child care center after the Iowa Board of Regents approved the UI’s request Thursday, while postponing requested renovations to the Iowa Memorial Union.
The regents delayed the first phase of the IMU’s modernization process, which was expected to start this spring and continue through four more phases until spring 2027 to modernize 120,000 square feet or 37 percent of the building, bringing it new food service options, outdoor seating, and the presence of Student Health.
The total cost of the project is expected to be $81.4 million, an amount that will be funded by a mix of UI student fees and Student Health Reserve Funds. $75 million will come from student fees of $100 to $120 per semester per undergraduate and graduate student while $6.4 million will be from the Student Health Services Reserve Funds.
The project was pushed because the regents were unsure what future federal National Institute of Health, or NIH, grants would be approved.
“We’re heading into, I think, a period of unprecedented uncertainty about federal funding,” Regent David Barker said to the regents. “In many ways, when I look at the IMU project, [it] looks like that’s a great project but probably not a project that is immediately necessary.”
Rod Lehnertz, UI senior vice president and university architect, told the board the project has a variety of funding sources and should be able to proceed even if there are federal cuts.
“My initial reaction is it would be independent,” Lehnertz said. “It’s an already established, funded project.”
Barker responded saying there may be other uses for that funding if health care areas receive a hit from NIH cuts.
“If we end up making cuts. There may be other uses for that. Those student fee dollars that might be necessary,” he said.
Three other approved projects include renovating and modernizing the first floor of Mayflower Residence Hall, a new Carver-Hawkeye Arena parking ramp, and a UI Health Care child care center. The regents approved the renovation for Mayflower’s first floor while the three other projects are still in designing and planning phases.
First floor of Mayflower Residence Hall to see updates
After two years of debate about what to do with Mayflower Residence Hall, the 1960s-era dorm will get major renovations later this year. The first floor of Mayflower was renovated last in 2009 after the flood of 2008 damaged the building.
According to the UI’s proposal, the project includes new flooring, wall treatments, and selective ceiling replacements throughout the renovated areas on the first floor.
The main focus of the project will be transforming the dorm’s multipurpose room into an open study lounge with four adjacent two to four person study rooms, relocating and expanding the current fitness center to the front of the building for better visibility and views, and downsizing the computer lab to reflect reduced demand while repurposing the space for other functions.
Lehnertz said this request is one of the first steps toward improving Mayflower for the residents who live there.
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“Student Life and Housing and Dining are looking at that future for how they’ll best use Mayflower, and it starts with improving some things, amenities,” he said in an interview with The Daily Iowan. “What this is, take the first floor and expand some of the services there, fitness, cafe, eating, studying, tutoring, spaces, other things that will make the space better for the students that live there.”
The project is expected to cost $2.4 million and be funded by University Housing Renewal and Improvement Funds. Construction is scheduled to run from spring 2025 to summer 2025.
Parking ramp to be built near Carver-Hawkeye Arena
Construction on a new parking ramp aiming to serve UI and UI Health Care staff will start this spring. The ramp, which will be located between the College of Dentistry and Carver-Hawkeye Arena, will have five levels and house 1,259 parking spots.
According to the proposal, the project would also include:
- Reconstruction and reconfiguration of existing surface parking lots 33, 40 and 44 for 500 to 550 parking stalls
- A new pedestrian crossing at Hawkins Drive and Newton Road
- A new left turn lane at Valley Avenue and Newton Road
- A new vehicle canopy serving the College of Dentistry
The ramp will cost $96 million, be funded by the Parking Improvement and Replacement Fund, and finish construction in fall 2026.
UI Health Care child care center
The child care center will replace the child care facility that is currently located in the Westlawn building on the West side of campus. The current child care center supports the needs of around 100 children and serves primarily UI Health Care and Carver College of Medicine faculty and staff, the UI’s proposal states.
The project is expected to cost between $7.5 million and $10 million and will be funded by University Hospital Building Usage Funds.
The UI also received approval to proceed with project planning for multiple renovation projects at the UIHC Main Hospital campus over the next 10 years, including inpatient areas, ambulatory clinics, identified laboratories, operating and procedure rooms, recovery rooms, ancillary services like imaging and pathology, and support areas for staff, patients, and visitors.
Jack Moore contributed to this report.