KU to brief legislative panel on 2018 building plans

photo by: Nick Krug

The Earth, Energy and Environment Center is shown under construction, June 3, 2016, on the campus of the University of Kansas.

Topeka ? University of Kansas officials are scheduled to brief a legislative panel Tuesday on major construction projects that are underway or scheduled to start in the near future, including a new Earth, Energy and Environment Center already under construction on the Lawrence campus.

The Joint Committee on State Building Construction meets Tuesday and Wednesday this week to review the five-year capital improvement plans for state agencies, including the six Regents universities.

The Kansas Board of Regents approved each school’s list of projects earlier this year. The Earth, Energy and Environment Center, or EEEC, is the largest item on KU’s list, estimated at $82 million, according to information KU submitted to the Regents.

The center will consist of two buildings, Ritchie Hall and Slawson Hall, with pedestrian bridges connecting them to Lindley and Learned halls. The 130,000-square foot complex is being described as a “multi-disciplinary” facility that will house faculty, students and researchers in geology and engineering doing energy and environmental research.

The project is being financed through a combination of private gifts, revenue bonds and university funds.

None of the projects on KU’s list that will be discussed Tuesday involve the Central District development area or the kind of “public-private partnership” funding mechanism that stirred controversy in the Legislature earlier this year.

Other items on KU’s list include renovations at Jayhawker Towers B and C, estimated at about $10 million each, a $10 million chilled water plant to serve the north district of campus, and a $3.7 million renovation of Dyche Hall.

The joint committee is mainly an advisory committee that conducts general oversight of state buildings and construction projects. It typically provides feedback on proposed projects and makes recommendations about capital improvements to the full Legislature.