“We’re really proud to say, you know what, ‘We’re on time, we’re on budget, we’re focused on the student piece first. Let’s get the classrooms up and running,” said Brian Fox, vice president of finance and administration.

Fox was joined on a tour of Cornett Hall Monday afternoon by Darrah, Oregon Tech President Nagi Naganathan, Oregon Tech Board Trustee Kelley Minty Morris, newly hired Mason Terry, director of Oregon Renewable Energy Center (OREC) and associate professor of electrical engineering and renewable energy engineering, and Roger Lindgren, professor of civil engineering.

Increased capacity

The east wing of Cornett will house OREC, significantly increasing its previous capacity before construction, as well as numerous new labs and study spaces, a “makerspace,” and also renovation of Cornett Hall’s courtyard, according to Darrah.

“This will update the facility for the next 20 years,” Darrah said.

Phase II of the project, to include an exterior $7 million “facelift” of Cornett Hall and construction of the new Center for Excellence and Engineering Technology (CEET) located to the west of Cornett Hall, is set to begin June 2019, Darrah said.

In June, Darrah said construction crews will move equipment from the west wing into the east wing of the building, and demolition of the west wing will begin. The goal is for crews to finish demolition by December.

“We’ll start to transition the programs over to this side and then we can start the demolition of the west wing,” Darrah said.

In the classroom

Classes in the east wing of Cornett Hall can begin as soon as September, according to Darrah.

“In order to run the kind of programs we do, you need large, industrial space like this,” Fox said. “This is our secret sauce.”

Cornett Hall renovations will provide students with a main corridor with glass panels providing passersby the ability to see what’s happening in labs from the hallway.

“Seniors in high school, when they’re walking through campus with their parents, they can see that activity,” Darrah said.

Another key piece of the renovations to the east wing is a strong wall and floor, located in what will be the structures lab, according to Darrah.

“They can bolt projects to this flooring wall and test it for strength,” Darrah said.

“Right now on the other side, they have a big, steel frame that sits above the floor that they test on. This is a significant upgrade.

“This is a very cool feature,” Darrah added, with most similar walls included in graduate-level research facilities.

2019 construction

Design for the CEET will go out to bid this spring, according Darrah, and construction is scheduled to break ground on the new signature building in June 2019.

Oregon Tech was approved for nearly $40 million in state bonding authority from the Oregon Legislature, which the polytechnic school matched with approximately $2 million in funds and donations to build CEET.

“Because of the second round of investments we appreciate from the (Oregon) Legislature and the governor, we’re really able to do the exterior pieces of it and then start on the next project, the center for Excellence and Engineering,” Fox said.

Oregon Tech administration officials are still discussing options for exterior work on Cornett Hall.

“This is a culmination of efforts of many so this did not happen overnight,” Naganathan said. “We need to build a space for the next 50 years.”

Construction for Phase I of Cornett Hall was bid to Adroit Construction, based in Medford, and Darrah said the project currently employs 30 to 35 workers.

To read this article and others on the Herald and News website, please refer to the link below:

OIT’s Cornett Hall Undergoing ‘Inside-Out’ Renovations (H&N)