Hawkeye Court demolition project to cost $1.1 million

It will cost an estimated $1.1 million to demolish eight flood-damaged buildings at Hawkeye Court Apartments, University of Iowa officials said.

UI officials several weeks ago announced their intention to raze the portion of Hawkeye Court damaged in the 2008 flood. University leaders will seek state Board of Regents approval for the plan Wednesday during a meeting in Ames. The meeting information was released Thursday.

The eight buildings to be razed contain 76 apartment units that have been unoccupied since the flood. The water reached about 15 inches in the first-floor apartments.

Cost of the demolition will be paid using insurance proceeds, money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and UI residence system earnings.

UI officials also have warned residents in the remaining occupied portions of Hawkeye Court that their leases for 2011-12 may be the last, as officials decide what to do with the aging complex and how best to meet housing needs. There are 504 total apartment units at Hawkeye Court, west of Mormon Trek Boulevard and Hawkeye Park Road. The complex opened in 1968.

The university also plans to abandon 16 units of nearby Hawkeye Drive Apartments as residential units and use them for storage purposes.

Also at Wednesday's regents meeting, UI officials will seek permission on several other projects, including:

• The schematic design and $24.4 million budget for the renovation and expansion of the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at UI Hospitals and Clinics.
• A revised project budget of $7.3 million for the installation of a biomass gasifier and steam generator at the Oakdale Renewable Energy Plant, an increase of about $591,000 from the previous budget. The new boiler, which will replace an outdated boiler, will increase the plant's steam output and provide steam for several new buildings on the UI's Research Campus.
• The project description and $3.4 million budget for the expansion of Commuter Lot 75 by about 350 parking spaces. The commuter lot, directly south of Carver Hawkeye Arena along the south side of Hawkins Drive, is now 406 spaces.