Fresno State will be busy this summer with infrastructure projects. All told, the university will spend millions of dollars on upgrading its built environment.
The modernization of Bulldog Stadium picks up steam. Pedestrian safety along Barstow Avenue gets a shot in the arm. Revitalization of the venerable North Gym-South Gym complex continues without letup. And some old sewer pipes are shown the door – civilization crumbles without an excellent sewage system.
“Fresno State continues to invest system-wide capital outlay funds together with campus funds to modernize and upgrade our infrastructure and facilities,” said Debbie Adishian-Astone, vice president for Administration and Fresno State chief financial officer in a news release. “We have many classrooms and instructional laboratories that are over 50 years old and we need to continue to make progress on improving these critical instructional spaces in order to provide a conducive teaching and learning environment for our students and faculty.”
The news release lists 10 projects getting under way this summer:
1.) Bulldog Stadium – upgrades to electrical infrastructure, replacement of field turf, field lighting and elevators upgrades. $6 million.
2.) Barstow Avenue and Campus Drive – New traffic-calming and pedestrian safety improvements, including new asphalt overlay on Barstow between Cedar and Maple avenues. $1.75 million.
3.) Satellite Student Union – New trash enclosure to make the area more aesthetically pleasing; upgrades to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act; pedestrian safety improvements at the intersection of Maple and San Ramon avenues. $700,000.
4.) North Gym Annex – Locker room remodel for water polo and women’s swimming and driving teams. $980,000.
5.) North Gym/South Gym – Work on the new South Gym kinesiology fitness room, restrooms and women’s locker room is almost done. North Gym renovations include new wrestling locker and mat room, upgraded labs for kinesiology, men’s and women’s basketball locker rooms, restrooms, faculty offices and classrooms. $10 million.
6.) Equestrian Locker Room Building – Construction of a new 4,000-square-foot locker room. $1.8 million.
7.) Sewer replacement – Sewer pipelines near the Engineering East building will be replaced as part of the overall sewer infrastructure replacement project. $600,000.
8.) Ruiz Foods Executive Classrooms – Site utility installation is expected to begin this summer for construction of a 5,400-square-foot building. There will be two 50-seat, state-of-the-art tiered classrooms providing Craig School of Business undergraduate and graduate programs with updated teaching environments. $3.5 million.
9.) Family Food Science New Infant Child Care Room – Renovations are expected to begin this summer. $250,000.
10.) High-Impact Science Lab Modernization – The design phase will be completed this summer for the modernization of several high-impact science laboratories. $3 million.
The news release noted that the CSU Board of Trustees recently approved the concept of a public-private partnership focused on replacing Fresno State’s Central Utility Plant.
Said the release: “This $130 million project remains the highest capital project priority for the campus and involves replacing the outdated central plant and related underground and building infrastructure.”
