Granite slabs adorning walls and oak doors gracing entryways are part of the $756,000 non-emergency work being done on NIU’s Physical Plant

Some NIU officials and employees are publicly and privately questioning the work because equipment safety checks were stopped and people laid off last semester because there wasn’t enough money.

The project is being conducted for three reasons, said Physical Plant Director John Harrod. The first being the plant did not meet safety codes because of poor ventilation in work areas. The plant also lacked fire walls.

One and three-fourths inch thick oak doors will be installed throughout the plant as part of the fire prevention effort, said Project Coordinator James Bryant.

The doors will cost about $1,000 each to install. Twenty-five doors will be installed. Oak is being used because it is durable and doesn’t burn easily, he said.

Firewalls will be built throughout the building to meet the state safety standards and minimize fire hazards. Additionally, blocks of thick granite slabs will be cemented and anchored to the fire walls to provide a decorative quality to the building.

Bryant explained the granite blocks were taken from the Holmes Student Center during its recladding.

The blocks are about five inches thick and were cut to specified length by an outside business for about $2,000, Bryant said. The blocks were polished and are now being anchored to the office walls.

“The main concern is that the area doesn’t meet safety codes,” Bryant said.

Harrod also cited the need for more personnel as a reason for the remodeling.

A mezzanine is being added to the material distribution center. The upper floor will be used to hold architectural plans and possibly computers later.

Finally, Harrod said the building needs to be reoriented because private businesses, like contractors, can’t find the main office.

The Illinois Department of Transportation is widening Route 38, eliminating access to the building from the south. The plant is located one block west of the football stadium on Route 38.

The project was estimated to cost $50,000 in 1989, according to a memo sent to President John La Tourette’s office.

The Board of Regents in January 1990 authorized a $756,000 budget for rehabilitating the plant which was originally built during the 1950s.

Money was to be appropriated from institutional funds. The project was considered a rehabilitation project by the Regents and thus did not require the approval of the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

Harrod said the funds were allocated from the state legislature. Harrod and Bryant concurred that 90 percent of the project’s labor is done by NIU.

NIU pays its own electrical laborer $21 an hour. Outside contractors for the job were hired at $31 an hour.

The addition phase of the project calls for airconditioning and heating to be placed in the material distribution center. Many of the fire walls will be lined with insulation.

Bryant said some of the project’s features were cut because of money. For example, carpeting will be placed in the offices but will not be as thick as originally planned.

The windows being placed in the former distribution center are not as good quality as those in residence halls, Bryant said. This might make it easier for cold air to get in during the winter, he said.

Bryant said the remodeling also will provide easier access to handicapped contractors, workers and officials.

Some officials said the project should be completed before the Regents’ meeting at NIU in March.

“I’d like to have it ready by March for the Board of Regents meeting, but I don’t believe it’s being rushed…that’s a target date,” Harrod said.