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Construction to shut down Woodruff, 17th

May 18, 2011

By Adam King

The first phase of the Academic Core North construction project now has a starting date: May 23.

Which leads to the question Project Manager Tom Ekegren has already heard: “Why is Ohio State starting this massive undertaking before spring quarter is finished?”

It’s a simple answer, Ekegren said: Time.

Continue reading ‘Construction to shut down Woodruff, 17th’

Sullivant Hall headed for a makeover

April 6, 2011

By Jeff McCallister

History permeates buildings all over the Ohio State campus.

University Hall, OSU’s first classroom building, dates from the 1870s and still is in use today; Orton Hall, Hayes Hall, Enarson Hall and Ohio Stadium all are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sullivant Hall, however, is a case all its own. It isn’t just steeped in history — it was born from it, built in 1916 as the original home to the Ohio Historical Society. Continue reading ‘Sullivant Hall headed for a makeover’

A project well worth the hassle

March 16, 2011

By Katy Ricchiuto

It’s an enormous undertaking that has completely closed off one of Ohio State’s most-used pedestrian routes from the south residence halls to other parts of campus. Continue reading ‘A project well worth the hassle’

Gift funds park for ProjectONE expansion

January 5, 2011

With her $2 million pledge to fund the Phyllis A. Jones Legacy Park in front of the new James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Phyllis Jones is making good on a promise she made to her late husband, Clayton K. Jones.

Mrs. Jones, former president and CEO of Fiesta Salons, pledged the gift to create the Jones Legacy Park in honor of her late husband, who was among the first patients treated for lung cancer at The James when it opened in 1990.

His physician — the hospital’s namesake Arthur G. James — would stop by daily to visit with Mr. Jones during his six-week hospitalization.

As he lay in his hospital bed, Mr. Jones told his wife: “‘You take care of The James, honey. They’ve taken care of me,’” recalls Mrs. Jones. “I’ve never forgotten that.”

In fulfilling her promise, Phyllis Jones said she hopes to create a restful, peaceful garden where patients, visitors and staff can seek comfort and solace. The garden will be located on the west lawn area in front of the new cancer hospital that is part of ProjectONE, the $1 billion Medical Center expansion scheduled for completion in 2014.

Mrs. Jones recalls how she visited her husband for up to 10 hours every day and knows firsthand the toll taken on family and friends, who often spend days or weeks at a loved one’s hospital bedside.

“Spending that much time at the hospital is hard on you,” says Jones, who lives in Powell.

“This Legacy Park seems like a restful addition to me, and it’s something everybody can enjoy.”

The Jones Legacy Park will include an outdoor area for patients and a children’s play area.

Located at Cannon Drive and 12th Avenue, the tower will include 276 beds in the new James Cancer Hospital and 144 beds in the new critical care building. It is designed to address capacity issues in the Medical Center’s current facilities. It’s anticipated that the expansion will allow the Medical Center to serve 310,000 additional patients annually. The new facilities will feature private rooms with abundant natural light and visual and physical access to green space, which are proven to have a positive impact on patient healing.

“Through this generous donation, countless patients and their families will be able to rest and reflect in this healing park just outside of our state-of-the-art cancer hospital, where we are working diligently to create a cancer-free world,” said Michael Caligiuri, director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center and CEO of the James.

Mrs. Jones, who was born in Kenton and raised in Columbus, has a daughter and a son, three grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Three years ago, she sold the successful chain of hair salons she and her husband started together in 1973 with just two shops in Columbus. Through the years, the chain had expanded to 198 salons.

“The Legacy Park will be a good addition to the hospital,” says Mrs. Jones. “This will offer people a nice break to get some fresh air while visiting the cancer hospital.”

Beginning OSU’s makeover

December 8, 2010

Five projects give OSU framework a jumpstart

By Adam King

Bernie Costantino is in the enviable position of being one of several planning leaders to have his fingerprints all over the Ohio State master plan. It is his job as university architect to help direct how outside firms and OSU engineers conceive delivering education via the university’s physical assets.

Continue reading ‘Beginning OSU’s makeover’

Route 315 construction information

June 9, 2010

The second phase of the State Route 315 construction project is scheduled to begin the day after Spring Commencement, June 14 and run through early September. During this time, traffic will be shifted to the northbound lanes so that construction crews can work on the eight bridges and three miles of highway in the southbound lanes between I-670 and Ackerman Road.

Several 315 entrance and exit ramps will be closed throughout the construction, including those at Lane Avenue. (Only the exit ramp from SR 315 north to Lane Avenue will be open at the beginning of construction. It will close on July 12 for about 30 days.) Faculty, staff, students, patients and visitors are encouraged to pay close attention to detour signs and expect some delays.

Below are specific directions to reach central campus, the Medical Center and the Veterinary Medical Center as well as directions for exiting campus:

Central Campus:

To reach central campus, motorists should take the Ackerman Road exits. Southbound motorists should turn left while northbound motorists should turn right onto Ackerman Road, then turn right onto Fred Taylor Drive and then left onto Woody Hayes Drive. Woody Hayes will connect motorists with Cannon Drive, College Road and High Street.

Medical Center:

Northbound motorists should take the Medical Center Drive exit, and turn left onto Cannon Drive. Southbound motorists should take the King/Kinnear exit and then turn left onto Olentangy River Road. Turn left off Olentangy onto King Avenue and then left again onto Cannon Drive.  The blue “H” hospital signs will help to guide you.

NOTE: There is heavy construction in the Medical Center area, especially on 10^th and 12^th Avenues. Pay close attention to detour and construction signage and expect delays.

Veterinary Medical Center:

All motorists should use the Ackerman Road exit to reach the Veterinary Medical Center.

Southbound motorists should turn left while northbound motorists should turn right onto Ackerman Road. Then turn right onto Fred Taylor Drive, (past Lane Avenue) turn right onto Woody Hayes Drive, left onto John Herrick Dr. and finally left onto Vernon L. Tharp Street.

Exiting Campus:

To State Route 315: To get to 315 northbound, take the Ackerman Road entrance ramp to 315 north.  To get to 315 southbound, take Cannon Drive to King Avenue. Turn right on King Avenue and proceed to Olentangy River Road. Turn left or south onto Olentangy — the entrance ramp to 315 south is on the left just before Goodale Street.

To I-670: To reach 670 east, take Olentangy River Road south to Goodale. Turn left on Goodale, then left on Neil Avenue and then right onto 670 east.

For more information about the SR315 project, visit www.buckeyetraffic.org/315

Construction Map:

The occurrence of road closures/detours and the loss of surface parking spaces during summer construction will impact daily travel and may create a ripple effect in other areas of campus as customers use alternate roadways or relocate to new parking areas. For a list of current construction projects, visit: www.osu.edu/map/construction.php

Alternative Travel Options:

Congested roads might offer the opportunity to try new travel modes to and from campus.

• COTA offers several bus routes to campus. Visit www.cota.com.
• MORPC VanPools are available. Visit osuvanpooling.morpc.org.
• Bicycle information and support can be found through the Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission. Visit www.morpc.org/transportation/bicycle_pedestrian/main.asp.

SR 315 construction begins anew June 13

June 2, 2010

Altering driving routes to, from campus part of the process

The State Route 315 construction that occurred in 2009 will resume almost as a mirror image of itself right after Ohio State’s Spring Commencement this month.

The first half of the Ohio Department of Transportation’s $24 million project to improve a trio of bridges and roadway between Interstate 670 and Ackerman Road upgraded the northbound side of 315, and on June 13 the southbound upgrades begin. Northbound access does not go unscathed, however. Continue reading ‘SR 315 construction begins anew June 13′

New chemistry, engineering facility moves forward

November 4, 2009

By Adam King

In the early stages of President Gordon Gee’s One University Framework campus master planning review, the William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering was slated to move from Koffolt Lab into a rebuilt Lord Hall on 17th Avenue.

But the review found that location to be too far away to keep an envisioned science and engineering corridor intact.

Meanwhile, the Department of Chemistry’s synthetics group, which was to be paired with chemcial and biomolecular engineering, was in need of new space as well with Evans Lab falling more into disrepair.

The situation became the perfect opportunity to demonstrate one of the core concepts of the One Framework. Since many of the needs of the two departments are similar, they’ll now be paired into a new building along 19th Avenue.

“The overall university plan is not to increase the square footage in terms of footprint but the quality and impact of square footage we devote to teaching and research,” said Malcolm Chisholm, chair of the Department of Chemistry. “To bring these departments into proximity is about fostering interactions. When it comes to getting research dollars, federal or otherwise, one needs to hunt in packs and you may need an engineer, physicist, chemist or biologist as part of a team to solve some of these important problems that Ohio State is focusing on.”

The Board of Trustees gave the go-ahead in October to enter the design stage for the 200,000-square-foot structure, which also will help Ohio State avoid tens of millions of dollars in deferred maintenance since four old buildings are coming down in order to build the new one: Aviation Building, Johnston Lab and Boyd and Haskett halls.

Coming down

A quartet of buildings that are considered past their prime will be removed beginning in 2012 to make way for a new structure that will house part of the Department of Chemistry and the entire William G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Clockwise from left are the Aviation Building (the adjoined Johnston Lab is slated for demolition as well), Boyd Hall and Haskett Hall. The Board of Trustees gave its approval for the new building, part of which will be called Koffolt Lab, to enter the design phase. Construction will be completed in 2014.

At the same time, combining the departments in one location builds on Gee’s One University philosophy of collaboration, said Stuart Cooper, chair of chemical and biomolecular engineering. He noted many of his faculty have joint appointments, and it just makes sense to have like-minded departments working together.

“There are commonalities in terms of energy, nanotechnology and biotechnology that nicely overlap both disciplines,” Cooper said.

“There also are things unique to chemical engineering that the new building will accommodate. It’s a nice realization to me of the vision that President Gee has for how the campus should look in the future. These joint engineering-science buildings are going up around the country, sometimes with chemistry, sometimes with biological sciences. But this is our fit and I think it will work out nicely.

“In addition, this new building will support the “Students First” theme of our campus since it will provide CBE the means to continue offering a first-rate undergraduate education program by investing in interactive classrooms and laboratories.”

The $126 million building, of which $96.5 million will come from state capital use funds, will begin construction in 2012 with a 2014 move-in date. Chemistry, which has raised $2 million of its required $12 million in private donations, will occupy 43,600 square feet of the 109,000 square feet of usable space with chemical and biomolecular engineering (CBE) taking the rest. Thanks to William Lowrie’s $17 million gift to engineering, the first that went toward naming a department at Ohio State, CBE has raised $13 million of its $17.5 million portion.

Lowrie’s gift also ensures keeping the Koffolt name with the CBE department, so CBE’s portion of the building will retain the Koffolt Lab name. Chemistry’s portion of the building is open for naming rights.

Jointly the departments have applied for $15 million in federal stimulus dollars to the National Institutes of Standards and Technology as well as the National Institutes of Health. They should know within four months if that money is approved.

Though the building is five years from becoming reality, it’s already having a positive effect on both departments.

Cooper said CBE would be able to continue competing for high-quality faculty, who might have considered other universities that had already invested in more modern facilities.

“Three to four years down the road is not a great time to wait for faculty who plan to spend a career here,” Cooper said, “so we’re already showing rough sketches to faculty prospects. This also will transform us in terms of good, quality space for our participation in some of the important themes in OSU research in energy, biotech and nanotech.”

One Framework is a comprehensive master plan that establishes a long-range (20-50 years) physical vision for the Ohio State campus. It will be a structure for guiding change over time that connects ideas, information, and implementation.

The plan is unique in that it involves the entire campus and the surrounding community rather than individual parts such as athletics or the Medical Center or Student Life. It is expected to be complete and ready for approval by the board by late winter or early spring 2010.