Lake Land College Begins Renovation of Northeast Building

Lake Land College will renovate its Northeast Building this summer.

Construction began Friday and will be completed before the beginning of the fall semester. 

According to Mike Kasdorf, director of facilities planning, the Northeast Building, which houses the math, science, social science and education programs, received an addition in the mid-1990s, but has not had a significant renovation since the building was constructed in the early 1970s. 

“Many of the building systems have reached the end of their serviceable lives and are in need of upgrading or replacement, and the interior of the building is in need of a facelift,” explained Kasdorf. 

This is the third and last of the college’s original classroom buildings to be renovated.  Over the past five years, the Field House, Vo-Tech Building, Northwest Building, Learning Resource Center and Webb Hall have been similarly renovated. All of the Northeast Building’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems will be replaced with resource efficient equipment, such as high-efficiency heating and air-conditioning devices, high-efficiency lighting and water conserving restroom fixtures, to name a few. 

“With the college’s sustainability initiatives, which includes a campus-wide geothermal system, active and passive solar energy systems, wind turbines and the construction of a Net Zero Energy Building, this is the opportune time to bring the Northeast Building into the twenty-first century,” said Kasdorf. Additionally, with the renovation of the Northeast Building the college will reach a long-standing goal of having every campus building free of asbestos. 

Further enhancements to safety and security for students and staff include an update and expansion of the fire alarm system and installation of exterior door access controls which will allow the administration and safety personnel to monitor alarms and access to the building after hours.  Additionally, the renovation will include updates that aim to provide more access to Americans with Disabilities. Specifically, the college will update interior and exterior doors and restrooms, which will ensure that all students have access to the programs offered within the Northeast Building.   

Many summer classes that are usually held in the Northeast Building will be re-located to ensure that summer class offerings will not be limited. Biology classes with labs will be moved to existing labs in Neal Hall and all labs will run as normal. Anatomy and Physiology classes that use cadavers will move to chemistry labs with ventilation capabilities and those classes will run as normal.

For safety reasons, the college is unable to offer microbiology this summer, but those classes will resume as normal in the fall.  

For more information about Lake Land College, visit www.lakelandcollege.edu.