Eastern Washington University has one large construction project underway and is seeking more than $27 million in funding for two others during this year’s state legislative session.

Shawn King, associate vice president of facilities and planning at EWU, says construction of the $67.9 million Interdisciplinary Science Center building started last July and is well underway, despite some minor setbacks.

“The building site was a city street in the days before there was a campus here, so there were some abandoned utilities in the ground that took a while to excavate,” says King. “We also had some unexpected winter weather that slowed things down a little.”

Lydig Construction Inc., of Spokane Valley, is the contractor on the project, which King says is expected to be completed in July 2020. Seattle-based LMN Architects designed it.

The 100,000-square-foot building will replace EWU’s existing science building with a center that will support biology, chemistry, geology, physics, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs.

“The building will have one 100-seat, auditorium-style classroom, and five offices for lab technicians, but otherwise it will be almost all teaching labs,” says King. “The design is a modern one that focuses on energy efficiency, but it should still blend nicely with other buildings on campus.”

Looking ahead, King says EWU is asking the Legislature for $7.8 million in funding toward the design of renovations for the existing science building, which is just southwest of the new Interdisciplinary Science Center site.  

“If we receive funding, design of phase one would start in July, and we’d be asking for construction funding in the next biennium,” he says. 

King says the existing science building is around 44 years old and many of its mechanical, electrical, and data communications systems are reaching the end of their life cycle. 

“The renovation would upgrade all of those systems, renovate the small lab research spaces, and alter the building’s layout to increase safety, accessibility, and reduce energy usage,” he says. 

King says the university is also requesting about $20 million in funding toward an infrastructure renewal project. 

“In the last biennium, we’d asked for about $25 million toward infrastructure upgrades to our chilled water plant,” he says. “We only got about $10 million, so this request will cover some of the work we didn’t get funded last time.” 

King says the infrastructure renewal project would include a new boiler-control package, upgrades to the campus’s electrical distribution system, and automated monitoring of its sewer system. 

“These systems distribute electricity, steam, and water throughout campus, so it’s important to us to keep them updated,” he says. “When we do these projects, we also look at ways to increase efficiency and sustainability.”