ANN ARBOR—University of Michigan Regents, at their April 17-18 meeting, approved these renovation projects:

–Approximately 16,800 gross square feet of space on the second floor of the Administrative Services Building will be remodeled for a number of Human Resources/Affirmative Action units, including the Office of Human Resource Development, the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program, the Family Care Resources Program, the Employee Rehabilitation Program, and the Consultation and Conciliation Service.

“Completion of this project, estimated to cost $2.1 million, will result in the provision of barrier free access to the south end of Administrative Services and Hoover Buildings A, B, and C,” said Chandler W. Matthews, U-M interim executive vice president.

–“A replacement unit substation is required in the School of Education Building to provide adequate electrical power for the increasing electronic equipment loads and for future air conditioning loads. The new substation will replace two existing unit substations that are fully loaded, old and very difficult to maintain.” The project is estimated to cost $300,000.

–“A School of Public Health II energy conservation study concluded that retrofitting the existing building lighting would reduce energy consumption significantly.” This project is estimated to cost $300,000.

–“In the School of Education Building and the School of Social Work Building, there are a number of areas which require cooling year around, even in the winter. In the School of Education Building, these areas are currently being cooled by electric air conditioning units, which are small in size, require high maintenance, and are not energy efficient. The area in the School of Social Work were originally scheduled to be cooled by the absorber chillers, but, since the loads are small, meeting these needs by running the large absorbers results in an inefficient operation.

“By combining these projects, a system will be installed which will provide very efficient cooling in the winter months to all the areas requiring year-round cooling in both buildings. The project is estimated to cost $465,000. The estimated energy savings are $95,000 per year resulting in a simple payback period of approximately five years.”