The HVAC renovation across MCCC is back on track now that financing has been secured.
This major geothermal renovation project was to be financed by Bank of America, but Key Bank and Sterling Bank and Trust are now jointly financing instead, since they are better fit to handle the 15-year, $17 million loan.
MB&T was at one point in talks to help, but believed MCCC would benefit from going through Key and Sterling alone, as they could sponsor more of the project than they initially estimated, according to Jack Burns, Director of Campus Planning and Facilities.
The final financing remains within the approved budget, Burns said
He said securing the financing took some time because of the complex nature of the loan, citing the large amount of paperwork and the fact that it took many people to work together to see it finalized.
“The credit goes primarily to Sue Wetzel, our VP of Administration, who worked incredibly long and hard on that portion of the project,” Burns said.
“After all, securing a loan for that amount of money isn’t as simple as purchasing a new car. There are way more moving parts to deal with.”
Soon this spring, people may spot the drilling rigs as they work on creating a well field, which is currently being cleared, and some boiler rooms will begin testing the new geothermal HVAC technology.
There will be a temporary air cooler rented again for this summer, yet this is still financially within the approved project budget, Burns said.
“You never know what you’ll run into,” Burns said
“But we plan as well as we can. Things happen but there’s nothing we can’t overcome.”
Work will begin on buildings about a week after winter semester ends. East and West Technology buildings will be shut down for new HVAC installations. Temporary offices will be prepared in advance for faculty.
The work scheduled for the corridor between the culinary facilities in the A building has been pushed back, which only means it will now be completed when the rest of the building sees its HVAC installments.
Burns said he’s excited to see the project begin taking off.
“It will be a very busy spring and summer around here for us,” he said.
Burns expects each portion of the renovation to be totally complete by mid-October this year.
At that time, MCCC will be 100 percent relying on the new geothermal system for heating and cooling.
