Page 28 - College Planning & Management, May 2018

DEALING WITH THE DEFERRED MAINTENANCE CHALLENGE
“The aging physical plant represents a portfolio of opportunities for energy and other operational cost savings due to capital investment, systems replacement, and even finish-level upgrades,” notes Hoare.
Hoare reports that over the past 20 years, the college has nearly doubled the gross square footage (GSF) of the campus, includ-
ing the addition of six residence halls. During this period of new facilities investment, it became apparent that funding to maintain existing or legacy GSF lagged behind.
“This made strategic investment in the renewal process even more important,” Hoare says. “Communicating the state of the physical plant, as the largest single asset of the institution, to Car- thage leadership is a critical function of the facilities department.” A plus at his institution, he adds, is that college leaders have both academic and campus operational experience. When combined with a knowledgeable board of directors, a shared understanding on the state of the campus was reached that included a commit- ment toward funding for the school’s recognized backlog.
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“The facilities staff is now energized toward achieving a much higher level of renewal projects as reinvestment in the physical plant,” Hoare says. “This engagement of our campus leadership promises to reinforce that stewardship of the physical assets of the college should be a concern of the highest level of campus governance.”
The school is now in the preliminary stage of a campus master planning process, which is expected to provide the guidepost for future capital investment in facilities and hardscapes, according to Hoare. “This process will provide guidance for adaptive reuse of our existing facilities, thus gaining valuable resets of the life cycles of building subsystems while at the same time supporting the strategic vision of the campus,” he says.
He notes that the aging physical plant represents a portfolio of op- portunities for energy and other operational cost savings due to capi- tal investment, systems replacement, and even finish-level upgrades.
“Facilities professionals must examine both supply- and demand-side opportunities that utility tariffs may provide,” he says. “Natural gas hedging is still an effective but rather mature tool. Now, energy asset concession/thermal service agreements, energy savings performance contracts with third party verification and guaranteed results are becoming more common.”
Diverse Needs
In many cases, upgrades are directed not just to the more obvious targets such as walls, roofs, and windows, but also to core systems such as HVAC, lighting, electrical, and communications, according to Fulop. She reports that one of her company’s clients, the University of North Texas in Denton, gained a 31 percent re- duction in energy costs, equal to $14 million in savings, as a result of two energy savings performance contract (ESPC) projects.
One of Texas’ largest universities, the university has 54 buildings in 12 colleges and schools. To achieve its goal of a “climate neutral” campus, the school underwent a series of renovations and energy upgrades, which included retrofits to the learning environment and direct digital controls for improved comfort. The university also installed variable frequency drives for better air flows, improved lighting systems, and other equipment and systems upgrades.
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COLLEGE PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / MAY 2018
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