The MSU Board of Trustees approved the IM West replacement with construction to start next month and to many peoples surprise it includes a pool. If the swim and dive team supporters can raise $26.5 million by October they will include locker rooms, stands and other things in the design required if the pool is to be used for organized events.
That is good news. When I think of the other sports facilities on campus it seems odd that a new pool would be such a great expense that they have to look for outside funding. I don't know for sure but did any of the newer facilities need to get donations for them to be built? It seems that the folks raising the money can do it, and I hope they build a really great natatorium. It is a bit sad to see the old IM go, that is where students would sign up for classes before the on-line era. It was always kind of crazy and confusing as you would go from one gym to another not really knowing where you were in that maze. They would hand you a computer punch card and when the cards were gone the class was full and closed. It was felt very competitive, and I often did not get the class I was hoping for. I hope signing up for classes is easier these days!
Yeah, the recent Munn, Breslin and football building additions were all financed with donations. Breslin is the newest ground up sports facility and it's very much a multi-use venue, I don't know if any part of its financing was from donations.
I read in today's City Pulse an artical which included a description of the new "Student Wellness Center" [kind of a lame title] that included a swimming pool. It is great that so many people have donated to the sports facilities, I think a new swimming pool will get far more use than the stadiums and fields see. On my walk today I noticed some real heavy construction work going on at the Farm Lane bridge site. Crews have removed large section of banks on each side of the river for the foundations of the new pedestrian bridge part of the project. Farm Lane itself has been excavated quite deeply for what I believe will be some sort of utility infrastructure. They were also cutting down many of the shrubs along the river trail on the south side all the way down to Sparty. I guess the goal is being able to actually see the river from the trail.
The complete span for the pedestrian bridge at Farm Lane is sitting on the old bridge ready to be installed. It looks nice but it will have much higher side rails/walls, in other words it looks much larger than the other pedestrian bridges, it will be more difficult to throw the rental scooters into the river! Up the street the steal gridders are being put up for the frame of the new student center.
MSU closes on deal to purchase Meridian Twp. property for MSU Health Care
The university has closed on a deal to buy a 13-acre property in Meridian Township that contains two buildings used by MSU Health Care.
The two buildings at 4660 and 4700 S. Hagadorn Road are six and two stories, respectively, and total 210,000 square feet. The property is directly across Hagadorn Road from MSU's East Lansing campus near the Clinical Center.
MSU Health Care has been the primary tenant of this facility for several years. The purchase of this site allows for consolidation of operations, and offers space to expand and grow the practice offerings in the evolving mid-Michigan healthcare market.
Consolidating on one site means that it will become a long-term location for MSU Health Care, which will be able to use space and facilities more efficiently. This expanded facility can now be branded as an MSU clinical destination right next to campus.
The MSU Board of Trustees authorized the purchase in February.
Not sure why those facebook photos aren't showing up. Anyway, Hood, you were right; I got it confirmed today by the infrastructure department that the ped bridge next to Farm Lane will be permanent, even though there will be sidewalks on the completed Farm Lane bridge. And it's not a replacement for the ped bridge further west. Still kind of surprised they are putting in that kind of redundancy for pedestrians.
It's not terribly surprising for me that they would build another pedestrian bridge, I was just a little surprised that they didn't put it a little closer to Bogue. Maybe they'll build another whenever they replace the Bogue bridge though?
Facebook must not be playing nice as a photo hosting site. I plan on grabbing some pics again in the next week or so, I was just waiting for things to be different enough from the last time to be worthwhile.
Crews seem to have finished underground utility work on Farm Lane and were paving the street. I wonder if the plan is to renovate the current bridge structure or replace it. Also, they were pouring cement for the new walkways to the pedestrian bridge and installing some nice-looking railings leading to the bridge on the north side. I also thought it was interesting that they planned two pedestrian crossings so close together. Up the street the steel structure for the new student center is standing and may be complete. The Red Cedar is flowing high for the first time in a while and the Great Blue Heron was fishing at the falls today. He is there quite often and is a really big and beautiful bird!
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https://statenews.com/article/2023/06/msu-board-renews-hope-for-swim-and-dive-reinstatement-with-new-pool
You can see the new conduits under Farm Lane.
Facebook must not be playing nice as a photo hosting site. I plan on grabbing some pics again in the next week or so, I was just waiting for things to be different enough from the last time to be worthwhile.