Copyright M Live Michigan
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Grand Valley State University (GVSU) has finalized three major construction projects totaling $17.1 million. They include: $5.6 million to construct a new 12,800-square-foot baseball and softball indoor training facility at the valley campus $5.2 million to upgrade lighting and acoustics for the Louis Armstrong Theatre and the Haas Center for Performing Arts $6.3 million to renovate the admissions and registrar offices within the student services building All three projects were approved during the board’s October 24 meeting, and all are on GVSU’s valley campus located in Allendale. Each of the renovations will be funded through the university’s strategic capital reserve fund. Student Services renovation - $6.3 million The $6.3 million renovation to the university’s student services building will cover large interior updates to the admissions and registrar departments, swapping the first and third-floor offices. The project will also cover updates to the Allendale campus building’s atrium and lobby, according to documents from the university’s finance and audit committee. “The vision for the Student Services Building renovation is to create a welcoming, technologically rich, multi-modal environment that reflects the unique GVSU experience, ensures intentional collaboration and care between students and staff and celebrates student achievement,” the committee minutes state. As part of the renovation, GVSU’s admissions department will relocate from the third to the first floor, and the registrar’s office will move to the third floor. The goal, university leaders said, is to create a more welcoming and easy-to-navigate entry sequence. “The design will foster collaboration and care between staff and students, with an emphasis on student life and celebrating the achievement of being admitted to GVSU.” Building construction will begin this month and is expected to be completed by May 2026. The project’s architect is Hanbury, a multi-state design firm that expanded to Grand Rapids two years ago. Granger Construction has been chosen as the construction manager. Baseball/softball training and locker room facility - $5.6 million Also among the projects approved by GVSU was construction of a new 12,800-square-foot baseball and softball indoor training facility at the valley campus, located near both teams’ fields and the Kelly Family Sports Center. The facility will include dedicated locker rooms for both teams, coaches’ locker rooms, team lounges, indoor batting cages, nutrition stations and team meeting spaces. Scott Whisler, GVSU’s director of planning/project delivery in the facilities planning department, wrote that the building will be a “cornerstone for recruiting, retention and development of GVSU student athletes.” It will address a critical need impacting athlete performance and well-being, he wrote, with neither the baseball nor softball team having dedicated locker room facilities. The building will also provide year-round access to an indoor training space for both teams. The facility will create a hub for team culture and identity, he wrote, with both the baseball and softball program among the most competitive in GVSU’s division. Construction will begin in May 2026, and is expected to be completed in December the same year. Integrated Architecture has been chosen as the project architect, with Rockford Construction selected as the construction manager. Louis Armstrong Theatre/Haas Center for Performing Arts - $5.2 million The $5.2 million project is necessary to support accreditation of the department of music, theater and dance, university leaders said. Accreditation ensures schools and their programs meet a certain quality standard. It provides higher education institutions with credibility, and can be required by some employers, licensing boards and other universities. It can make it easier to transfer credits and qualify for federal student aid. To maintain those standards, the project will include lighting, rigging, audio-visual system and acoustic upgrades to the Louis Armstrong Theatre. It will also update lighting and acoustics in other Haas Center areas like the recital hall, ensemble room, dance studio and dance classrooms. The Haas Center located at 10610 S Campus Drive in Allendale, which also houses the university’s art gallery, was originally constructed in 1971. It was renovated in 1998, and it was last expanded with a 47,000-square-foot, $20 million addition in 2017. The latest construction project will occur in two phases, with the first phase including the Haas Center upgrades beginning in May 2026 and wrapping up in August 2026. The theater updates will begin in May 2027, and are expected to be completed in January 2028. Lighting system infrastructure in the theater is now “inadequate” and must be replaced with new LED fixtures, according to meeting minutes attributed to Karen Ingle, associate vice president for facilities planning. The theater was also built without a fly system, or a theatrical rigging infrastructure of ropes, pulleys and counterweights used to quickly move scenery and curtains on and off stage. The new project will include a motorized rigging system. Without the system, all rigging has had to be improvised for each production, an approach described as both “costly and (carrying) a higher risk of failure.” The theater’s audio-visual systems also require a major upgrade to support the “wide variety of performances and events that take place in the theater.” Civil engineering company Fishbeck was chosen as the project engineer, with Clark Construction selected as the construction manager.
