During its September and October meetings, the Board of Regents (BOR) approved items related to construction projects, professorships, and rental agreements at Georgia Tech.

At the Oct. 13–14 meeting at Kennesaw State University, the BOR authorized the upcoming renovation of the O’Keefe Building, the Atlantic Drive South steam line project, and the Living Building project. 

O’Keefe will get a renovation of office space on the first and third floors for Facilities Management Administration and Design and Construction staff. The project cost of $5,500,000 is being funded by institutional funds, and the work is intended to be completed by December 2016. 

The Atlantic Drive South steam line project will replace lines that were originally installed in 1952 between Fourth Street and Ferst Drive. The project will be completed in phases over the next three years at a cost of $12,500,000, also funded by institutional funds. Additionally, the project will include lighting upgrades and streetscape improvements that will replace the existing asphalt with brick walkways, creating plazas and connections around buildings in the area. Similar to recent improvements in Harrison Square, these changes will improve pedestrian safety, increase accessibility, and enhance stormwater management capacity. Parts of the steam line further north on Atlantic Drive were replaced earlier this year. 

The Living Building project is being funded by a recent $30 million gift from the Kendeda Fund. The building is expected to be the most environmentally advanced education and research building ever constructed in the Southeast and will be integrated into the long-term Eco-Commons project. President G.P. “Bud” Peterson gave a presentation on the Eco-Commons at the meeting. 

All three projects had previously been raised as informational items at the Sept. 15 meeting in Atlanta. At that meeting, the BOR approved the redesignation of the Love Family Professorship in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering as the Love Family Professorships. The redesignation reflects changes to the donor agreement that let the School deploy the $1.5 million fund to support any combination of faculty positions to meet its needs. Faculty members Hang Lu and Chris Jones were appointed to the newly redesignated professorships. 

The BOR’s Finance and Business Operations Committee presented its list of capital requests for FY17 that will go to Georgia Governor Nathan Deal for consideration in 2016. On that list was a recommendation for $47,400,000 for renovation of the Price Gilbert Library and Crosland Tower (the Library Renewal project). 

For the Van Leer project, which will create the Texas Instruments Plaza and Maker Space, the Board authorized the appointment of Gilbane Building Company as the construction management firm.

The Board also approved a rental agreement for the Alternative Media Access Center (AMAC) at 512 Means Street, increasing its space and enabling the Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access (CATEA) to relocate and share space with AMAC.