Baldwin Hall is undergoing renovations, and will be under construction for the 2016-17 school year. Renovations include installing new plumbing, HVAC, fire safety systems and other features to bring the building up to code.
Truman has hired general contractor Whiting-Turner, a company that has completed installations for other universities like University of Missouri-Kansas City, Stanford and Virginia Tech. The entire project will cost the University $15.5 million. Whiting-Turner is being paid $11.5 million, and the remaining amount will go toward design fees and contingency allowances. Construction will be based out of the parking lot between Baldwin and McClain Hall, and should not disrupt student traffic.
Overseeing the construction is Campus Architect Mark Schultz, who said the current focus of the renovation is demolishing the old features.
“So far we’ve been just removing the stuff that’s in the way,” says Schultz. “All the HVAC, all the electrical, all the plumbing, ceilings, floors and most of the walls.”
Baldwin’s last renovation was during the early 80s, says Schultz, and multiple aspects need to be brought up to modern building code. A new stairwell will be added at the south end of the auditorium stage for fire safety purposes. Several surprises are also being dealt with — in addition to minor plumbing and structural issues, workers have found and removed old asbestos-based tiles and adhesive.
Despite these surprises, construction is proceeding as planned, says Schultz. Demolition will be finished early September, after which installation will begin. Construction will take until end of June next year.