Starting during the winter break of this year, the Liberal Arts building on the West Windsor campus of MCCC will be closed for renovations. These renovations are scheduled to take nine months to complete, being done around the Fall 2023 semester.
Assistant Director of Facilities Josh Johnson said the renovations are being done to completely replace the HVAC system in that building and perform various other upgrades and changes.
Johnson says that the new HVAC system will provide “constant outdoor air and occupancy sensors which take into consideration how many people are in the room by looking at the amount of carbon dioxide that is being put out.”
He adds that among other improvements, the ceilings will be removed, and lights will be upgraded to LEDs.
The heating and cooling system for the building will also no longer use boilers. It will use heat pumps and refrigerant.
According to Johnson, the project has a scheduled nine month timeline to provide more cushioning and to bring costs down, as the estimate for getting it done quickly would have been three months. Johnson said this was because for the three month timeline, more workers would have to work more shifts, bringing up labor costs. With the current timeline, less people can work and spend more time on specific projects within the upgrade.
Mathematics Professor Jamie Fleischner, who has an office in the LA building said “I’m glad that they’re going to redo it because the temperature in here varies day to day. It’s never consistent. Different rooms are hot and different rooms are cold – one side of the building versus the other.”
Dean of Liberal Arts Dr. Bob Kleinschmidt says that his main concern is finding out where students are going to go, saying “If I have to have an office somewhere for a semester, that [the location] is not the best, that’s not a big deal. The real problem is can we put classes in a viable location so students can continue their education?”
Along with these renovations, there are others in the works for the entire campus. The most visible change are the new locks classroom doors called a TeacherLock, which acts like an interior deadbolt device. To improve upon the locks, the school has made various upgrades to make them more tamper resistant.
Along with the TeacherLock, Mercer plans on adding swipe card entries to all class rooms. These would work with a student and professor’s schedule so that they can get into only rooms they need to be in when they need to be in them.
These swipe card locks would also be able to be remotely locked in the event of an emergency, so nobody could get into a room.
The school is also working to expand the footprint of security cameras on campus, with the current situation not offering much visibility in the event of an emergency where they are needed.
Abby Hall, an Advertising and Graphic Design major said of the possible security upgrades “I do like the idea of getting into buildings with an ID card, I feel like it would make me feel safer.”
The school has set the Fall 2023 semester as its goal for getting the campus-wide security upgrade completed.
History Professor Craig Coenen said of the LA building closure, “I’m hoping that by the fall of 2023 when they reopen the building, it’ll be modern and safer. It’s going to be a disruption of course, but it’s going to be something that I think long term will be a positive thing.”
