Trustees OK $39M new science building bid

The UNA Board of Trustees approved a low bid to build a new science building on campus, officials said. The $39.7 million bid came in from the Birmingham-based company B.L. Harbert International.

Officials reviewed bids April 3 during a special called meeting to review bid submissions by eight companies, according to a university release.

The building will house the chemistry and industrial hygiene, biology and physics and earth science departments. The building will replace Floyd Science Building. Floyd is currently approximately 50 years old.

“This has been a campus priority for a long time, and certainly among my highest priorities since I first toured Floyd (Science Building) shortly after my arrival,” President William G. Cale wrote in a campus-wide e-mail. “The project will begin very soon and is anticipated to be completed in about 20 months.”

The university has approximately $31 million in hand to build the project and will seek external funding through donor campaigns, according to a university release.

“The university has needed this particular facility for a great many years, and today we’re finally in a position to proceed and make it happen,” said UNA Trustee Steve Pierce in a release. “Having an up-to-date, state-of-art home for our science and technology programs will do so much to enhance the research projects and overall competitive abilities of our students and faculty working in these areas. The possibilities now are going to be limitless.”