Workers will soon begin to remove hazardous materials from the Ivinson Building, a former Laramie hospital that has been a multipurpose University of Wyoming facility since the 1970s.
The UW Board of Trustees on Friday awarded a $456,600 contract to MFH Environmental Corporation, Wheatridge, Colo., to abate hazardous materials in the Ivinson Building that was built in 1916. Among its many uses, the facility had served as the home of the UW Police Department, Information Technology and College of Health Sciences administrative offices.
Because of the building's structure, many Americans with Disabilities Act updates would be required to meet statutory accessibility, the foundation is deteriorating and the building's mechanical, electrical and elevator systems are beyond their useful life. There are also many building, safety and accessibility codes problems due to the building's age.
"The costs of addressing the range and severity of these issues make renovation a financial Impossibility," says Douglas H. Vinzant, the university's vice president for administration.
The university plans to deconstruct the building and replace it with a parking lot that will add approximately 75 new parking spaces. Before deconstruction takes place the hazardous materials must be removed for public and worker safety.
Last June, an industrial hygiene firm conducted a thorough hazardous materials survey on the building. That survey indicated a substantial amount of asbestos and lead paint and other materials such as mercury and transformers that contained PCBs. The hazardous materials removal and disposal will be significant.
The trustees awarded a $298,502 contract to Alpine Demolition and Recycling Inc., Arvada, Colo., to deconstruct the building upon completion of the hazardous materials abatement project. The goal is to maximize the reuse and recycling of the materials used to construct the building and to limit the amount of waste that will be taken to the Laramie landfill.
Vinzant says UW plans to use reclaimed materials from the original building to construct a memorial to the building including a permanent plaque with the building's image.
The trustees also awarded a $1.024 million contract to Stonehouse Inc. of Laramie for improvements to the South Shuttle parking facility located at 15th and Spring Creek.
The project will provide a fully paved parking lot with 286 parking spaces. The design will include accessible or handicapped parking spaces, a bus shelter and bicycle racks plus curb and gutter, sidewalks, landscaping and lighting to meet City of Laramie requirements. The project will begin in late spring and will be completed in fall 2011.
