Work began last week to reconstruct the intersection at University Boulevard and Sixth Street. Completion is anticipated during the first week of August. Photos by Christopher Gannon.
Summer is anything but slow for the professionals in facilities planning and management who oversee campus construction projects. Inside provides a quick look at about a dozen projects starting, finishing or continuing this summer, with our thanks to the managers who shared their project updates with us.
Projects contained to summer
East side intersection
Reconstruction of the intersection at University Boulevard and Sixth Street, including roadway, sidewalks and new traffic signals, began May 19 and will continue into the first week of August. The project also moves a CyRide bus stop in the intersection's northeast corner further north and adds sidewalk along University Boulevard to the bus stop. The road work will be done in phases, first the northbound lanes, followed by the southbound lanes (estimated to begin around June 19). Single-lane vehicle traffic in each direction will be maintained throughout the project. Sixth Street between University Boulevard and the Brookside Park entrance is closed during the first phase, and the CyRide headquarters east driveway from University Boulevard will be closed during the second phase. The project budget is $955,000.
Communications Building suite remodel
Office suite 1200 in the east addition to the Communications Building is getting a $470,000 refresh this summer for future use by the department of public safety (DPS). Building security services, which includes key management, was transferred from facilities planning and management to DPS in November 2023 to align campus safety functions within one unit. The key service desk, which remained at 108 General Services Building, will relocate to the suite when this renovation is complete.
The project doesn't include any structural changes. Improvements include new carpet, paint, lighting, furniture and a rubber floor in the key making room. Coil "windows" (essentially an overhead roll-up door) will be installed at two new key service desks. Furniture removal has started, and the lighting, flooring and painting should be done by late July, when furniture installation can begin. Staff should move in by mid-September. Existing metered parking along the east side of Communications Building will service key/card customers.
Updates to the Towers
Promising admission numbers and projections for near-capacity in the university's residence halls led to the residence team's decision to return Wallace and Wilson halls to their original double-occupancy design capacity. That means about 1,100 students will live in the halls this fall. Over the summer, some updates will be made in preparation, including a new roof on Wilson and new student furniture throughout Wallace.
Replacement of three central campus parking lots
Reserved lots 8 (south of Hoover Hall), 16 (west of Parks Library) and 36 (east of Physics and Wilhelm halls) are being redone concurrently this summer. The size and capacity of the lots won't change. Work includes removing and replacing the concrete paving and installing new storm water intakes, lighting and sidewalks. Additional work will add electrical conduits beneath Lot 8 and a larger water line beneath Lot 36 to increase the water service capacity to Physics and Zaffarano halls. Lot 36 also will be regraded to reduce the slope of the parking area and sidewalk. The lots are closed now and, barring significant weather delays, will reopen in mid-August. The project budget is $2.7 million.
Campus services, logistics and support services, and postal and parcel staff are working with occupants of buildings adjacent to these lots to minimize the impact to their services.
Projects beginning this summer
South 16th Street widening
A city of Ames two-summer project to widen South 16th Street to four lanes between University Boulevard and Apple Place, adjacent to the College of Veterinary Medicine campus, is anticipated to start in June, pending the city council's approval of the contractor on June 10. The project will construct a four-lane road with curb and gutter and 10-foot-wide shared use paths on both sides of the roadway and replace the street lighting. While a city project, numerous university teams, including real estate and capital planning, Vet Med leaders, facilities planning and management, recreation services and athletics, have supported the planning for this project.
Roughly the east half of the project will be completed this summer, the west half in the summer of 2026, with strict deadlines to complete or stop work prior the the start of the Cyclone football season each year. Single-lane vehicle traffic in each direction will be maintained during both phases. While the intersection with Riverside Drive is being reconstructed this summer, traffic will be detoured along the frontage road between Riverside and Christensen drives (south of South 16th) which will be modified to accommodate the additional traffic. The Vet Med multi-use trail might close for up to 30 days this summer. Pedestrians and cyclists who use the trails along South 16th Street should seek alternate routes during construction.
Hyland Avenue reconstruction
Hugging the west edge of campus, this city of Ames street reconstruction project will include full road and curb replacement on Hyland from Ontario Street to Pammel Drive, and patch replacement in a handful of locations between Pammel Drive and Lincoln Way. Existing bike lanes in the Hyland roadway between Ontario and Oakland streets will be relocated to a new shared-use path along the west side of Hyland.
The first of four phases has closed the road from Ontario Street to just north of the Unitarian Universalist worship center (1015 Hyland Ave.) for five to seven weeks, weather dependent. During phases 2 and 3, from the worship center entrance to just south of Pammel Drive, Hyland will reopen to through traffic. A temporary traffic signal will control alternating northbound and southbound traffic, first using the northbound lane (phase 2), then the southbound lane (phase 3). Access to Pammel Drive will close during phases 2 and 3, each anticipated to last about five weeks. Phase 4 will focus on the shared use path along the west side of Hyland Avenue, including a transition area at the intersection of Hyland Avenue and Oakland Street. This project will continue into the early part of fall semester.
Projects wrapping up this summer
Warren Madden Building renovation
Additional remodeling on floors one and two of the former Administrative Services Building was coordinated to make use of the months the building has been closed to repair water damage following a burst water pipe in January 2024. About $1.8 million in water damage repair work wrapped up earlier this semester.
The supplementary $1.9 million project creates additional office and conference room spaces on the first floor, replaces carpeting in areas not impacted by the water damage and replaces the 25-year-old furniture with an electric-powered panel and furniture system. Move-in is anticipated for late summer, with a building rededication planned for early fall.
Stange Road reconstruction
Stange Road south of the Veenker golf course entrance is a university street, so this second summer of reconstructing the roadway, including sidewalks, is a university project. Weather-dependent, the goal is to complete all work by late August. The northbound 2.5 lanes are removed and new concrete is poured and curing. The goal is to open the new lanes to two-way traffic in mid-June, when demolition of the southbound lanes will begin. During part of this phase, a temporary gravel driveway will be installed south of Veenker Drive to maintain access to the golf course. This $3.65 million project doesn't extend into the Stange/13th Street intersection.
CyTown parking lots
The final section of new parking (lot B5) in the CyTown development will be available for tailgating on Aug. 30, the Cyclones' first home football game. Work on B5 is anticipated to begin around July 1, pending progress on the new McFarland Clinic facility at CyTown. Crews currently are installing geothermal wells for the new building beneath what will be Lot B5. The McFarland Clinic building is scheduled for completion in fall 2026.
Continuing projects
Restrooms remodel in Friley residence hall
A multi-year, nine-phased project to modernize all the bathrooms in Friley Hall, home to 1,200 students, will be paused in late July, when the fourth "stack" of restrooms is completed. The most recent three stacks were at least partially completed during an academic semester, and department leaders will assess that strategy and its impact on the student experience. The plan is to resume the project during fiscal year 2027. In each phase, the complex process starts with demolishing the existing room. Without expanding its footprint, sinks remain in a communal arrangement, and to provide better privacy, showers and toilets each are in a small room with full door. Plumbing, mechanical and lighting systems all get replaced in the renovation.
Veterinary Diagnostic Lab: phase 2
Work began last May on a $66.5 million second wing at the VDL on the College of Veterinary Medicine campus. When it's completed, estimated for late fall 2026, all functions of the VDL will be under one roof. Like phase 1, which opened in March 2024, the phase 2 wing features laboratory spaces for different functions of the VDL as well as its administrative offices. Conference rooms and employee break spaces included in phase 1 will service the entire facility.
Funding comes from dollars directed to Iowa in the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and pledged in 2023 by Gov. Kim Reynolds ($40 million), an $18 million state appropriation (Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund) in fiscal year 2024, college funds ($6.5 million) and private gifts ($2 million).
LeBaron Hall replacement
A two-year process to demolish and replace LeBaron Hall is on schedule for fall 2026 completion. Work to erect steel framing and floor decking will wrap up in mid-June, when concrete floors can be poured. In early July, installation of the cast stone external walls will begin. Before winter, windows and doors will be placed so internal work can begin. Features of the $39 million building include a 100-seat university classroom; teaching, production and design studios for the apparel program; experiential learning space for the event management program and a historic textiles and clothing lab. Private gifts ($30.4 million) and university funds ($8.6 million) will cover the project.
Completed projects
Therkildsen Industrial Engineering Building
Work on the new home of the industrial and manufacturing systems engineering department, which began in December 2022, wrapped up this spring with a May 1 ribbon cutting by the lead donors, alumni C.G. "Turk" and Joyce Therkildsen. Faculty and staff are moving into their office spaces this summer. The $70 million project is covered with private gifts, including the Therkildsens' $42 million gift.
McKee Volleyball Center
Over the last year, the former McKee tennis facility on South Dakota Avenue in west Ames was converted to a home for the Cyclone volleyball program. Because the volleyball roster includes more student-athletes than the tennis team's, locker, training and team rooms were replaced and enlarged, and the practice area now features two courts with a rubber athletic floor. A new mezzanine level creates space for coaches' offices. The team has been training in the remodeled building since March. Athletics department funds covered the $4.2 million cost.
This spring, the Cyclone tennis team used its new facility in the ISU Research Park.
