After 2014 rejection, University of Iowa Seashore Hall renovation garners regent support

Unlike in September 2014 when the Board of Regents rejected a University of Iowa proposal to renovate and modernize its antiquated Seashore Hall and attached wings, a regent committee Wednesday supported a reimagined proposal to build a new psychological and brain sciences building on campus.

The board's property and facilities committee said it will recommend he $33.5 million project for approval to the full Board of Regents on Thursday. The project, if approved, would erect a new 34,795-square-foot facility for the UI Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences and raze a portion of Seashore Hall at 301 East Jefferson St. in Iowa City.

The new psychology building will include 'state-of-the-art” teaching and research space for the College of Liberal Arts and Science's largest department. Right now, the department is spread between three buildings: Seashore Hall, Spence Laboratories of Psychology, and the renovated Stuit Hall.

Seashore Hall, which officials said they plan to completely raze eventually, was built in 1899 as the university's first hospital and began housing the department in 1930. Officials have called the quality, type, and organization of its space 'inadequate to serve either the teaching or research missions of the department.”

'It's time has come,” said Rod Lehnertz, senior vice president for finance and operations.

Back in September 2014, the university pitched a similar $27 million project to modernize significant portions of Seashore Hall for the psychology department, while eliminating outdated components.

But regents Milt Dakovich and Larry McKibben at the time criticized the proposal as simply fixing, upgrading, and remodeling something 'broken and old,” which directly countered advice that emerged through an efficiency study of the regent system.

McKibben, who led the efficiency review for the board, suggested postponing the Seashore project until after hearing the final efficiency review recommendations.

Lehnertz told The Gazette on Wednesday the university's most recent proposal is an updated version of the 2014 pitch based on current needs and objectives. Among other things, it more closely aligns with regent aspirations to improve efficiency - providing more multidisciplinary and collaboration opportunities.

According to the proposal, the new building will include two general assignment classrooms, student learning commons, research labs, offices and conference rooms, and the departmental office for Psychological and Brain Sciences.

The project, according to regent documents, requires razing the southeast wing of Seashore Hall - about 14,300 square feet - for construction and connection to Spence Labs. Once the university's other flood-recovery projects wrap, the campus will have more temporary space for the relocation of programs and services remaining in Seashore Hall.

'The remainder of Seashore Hall would be razed as a separate project,” according to board documents.

In sum, the project would remove about 76,000 gross square feet from campus.

'The project would improve campus space efficiency by constructing a new optimized building that enables the removal of a much larger, outdated Seashore Hall,” according to the documents. 'As a result of this project and future Seashore demolition, the university would have fewer but better designed and utilized general assignment classrooms.”

The project would be funded by treasurer's temporary investment income, building renewal funds, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences gifts and earnings, and indirect cost recoveries from sponsored research.

Lehnertz said the university's psychology department is booming, both in student interest and research funding. The department obtained $5.7 million in federal research dollars in 2014, and it amassed $7.7 million last year, according to Lehnertz.

It provides about 22,000 instructional credit hours a year and serves more than 1,200 psychology majors.

'The new facility would foster recruitment and development of a community for the students, faculty, and staff in the Psychological and Brain Sciences department through efficient co-location of student space, classrooms, laboratories, graduate student space, and administrative offices,” according to board documents.

If the full Board of Regents approves the project on Thursday, a team would complete the design development and construction document phases by April 2017, bid the project in May or June of that year, and complete construction by April 2019.