The University of Pittsburgh's property and facilities committee voted Wednesday to approve $58 million in renovation projects for the university, including a $10.4 million upgrade for the elevators in the Cathedral of Learning.
The elevator upgrade, which will feature a computerized "destination-based" dispatch system, is the first major renovation to the elevator system first installed by Westinghouse in 1931.
Ken Service, vice chancellor for communications at Pitt, said the upgrades will increase efficiency and will help to reduce waiting times. Service said the upgrades will occur in phases to disrupt traffic as little as possible at the 43-story cathedral. All eight of the main elevators and the smaller elevators that serve the top floors are included in the renovation. The university will also be increasing the number of stops and reopening some of the stops that are closed to certain elevators.
John Fedele, senior associate director of news for Pitt, said there is no starting date for the project but the university is in the design phase. The elevators were upgraded in 1971 and again in 1998, but those upgrades were of a limited scope, according to Pitt.
The committee also approved a $34 million upgrade to Clapp Hall, home to the university's Department of Biological Sciences, which will include a full interior renovation, replacing all mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and telecommunications systems, as well as interior finishes.
All of the laboratories, classrooms, offices and support spaces will be reconfigured and upgraded and a new fire suppression system will be installed. In addition, the exterior masonry will be repointed and the roof, windows and doors will be replaced. Once complete, the project is expected to earn LEED Silver certification.
The remaining projects include:
- A $5.5 million renovation to upgrade the 13th floor of the Chevron Science Center for a synthetic chemistry research laboratory and a chemical molecular biology research laboratory for two new faculty research teams.
- A $5 million upgrade at the Network Operations Center at the Regional Industrial Development Corporation East to support the future growth of the university's high-density research cluster. The project will nearly quadruple the capacity at NOC to host servers for departments and individual researchers.
- A $3.9 million instillation of a helium recovery and liquefaction system in the mid-campus complex. The university said this will help conserve the helium that is used in the university's nanoscience laboratories and as the price of helium is increasing faster than the regular Consumer Price Index, it also provides the university with significant cost savings in the future.
The committee also approved a sublease with Fisher Scientific International Inc. for 31,557 square feet of office and classroom space located at 100 Technology Drive in the Pittsburgh Technology Center. The two-year, five-month sublease is effective May 1 at an initial annual rental rate of $757,368.
Pitt said the space will help to accommodate growth in its School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and will house the Department of Physical Therapy.
At the end of the sublease, the committee approved Pitt to enter a five-year lease with the building owner, MB Pittsburgh Bridgeside DST.