Trustees at Miami University in Dayton, Ohio, approved the campus’ single most expensive project in the school’s 205-year history. The board’s approval of the $98.3 million renovation of the North Quad dormitories brings the school’s total construction expenditures for the year to more than $182 million.
This most recent renovation is part of a “Miami Makeover” launched in 2009. The makeover included plans to “rebuild dining halls and residences across the campus,” the Dayton Daily News reported. It led to the school’s largest construction boom since the 1950s and 1960s.
Among the projects included in the makeover are replacement of the Shriver Center, which was constructed in 1958, with a $53.1 million student center. Other improvements include a $2.6 million Goggin Ice Arena upgrade and $83.75 million allocated for new dorms and a dining hall.
All told, the university has acquired more than $679 million in debt, according to the Dayton Daily News. But officials said that they will not allow the school to accrue additional debt to complete future projects, and that the school will undergo “a hiatus period in regards to further borrowing,” said David Creamer, the university’s finance director.