Demolition of Terrace Hall is not expected to begin until classes let out for summer, but steps are being taken now to prepare the building, said Tom Euclide, director of architecture and engineering.

The first step is environmental remediation, which means removal of hazardous materials, mainly asbestos, from Terrace, Euclide said. Removal could take about three to six weeks.

The second step is taking salvageable materials such as aluminum and other metals out of Terrace for either direct resale or recycling, he said. This step is included in the demolition phase, which will take about six to eight weeks.

Bids, prepared plans and specifications for the project will be advertised in the newspaper, Euclide said. If interested, contractors can submit a price for their work. The bid for environmental remediation will be advertised within the next four weeks, he said.

The second bid is for leveling the building and hauling away materials. Included in this bid is removing materials to prepare the building before demolition.

After the salvageable materials are removed, large equipment will slowly knock the building down, Euclide said. The concrete foundation of Terrace will also be dug out and removed, so it won’t get in the way of future development, Euclide said.

“Demolition will be very slow and methodic,” Euclide said. “That way there is no risk to the public or workers.”

Although removal of material from inside the building could go on during classes, demolition will wait. Euclide said he doesn’t want to create more noise during finals week.

A separate bid will go out for landscaping and constructing the new lot, Euclide said.

The new parking lot should be available for the fall semester, administration vice president David Creamer said. Permits for the parking lot won’t be sold until it is completed, he added. The lot will have about 200 parking spaces.

The decision to build a surface lot had to do with the ability to use the spot for future developing and the added cost. Creamer said the administration continues to explore possible locations for a garage.

However, the property is a desired spot for future developing. The university’s options were limited because that space might be needed for an academic building, he said.

The cost to build a surface lot is one-tenth the cost to put in a parking garage, Creamer said. So, a surface lot would cost $2,000 per space compared to a parking garage, which would cost $15,000 to $20,000 per space.

“In the end it keeps the cost down for the student,” Creamer said.

The increase in the cost of parking permits next year is not due to the construction of the new lot, Creamer said. Part of the cost of the permit goes to paying for snow removal, as the last two winters have been costly, he said.

Since the year 2000, the university has constructed 2,000 additional parking spaces on campus, Creamer said. The field behind the outdoor track near Small Group was turned into a parking lot, but some of the green space was kept.

“We’re trying to balance intruding on green space but meet the increasing needs for parking,” Creamer said.

Contact buildings and grounds reporter Jennifer Mussig at [email protected].