The Grand Valley State University Board of Trustees approved the
construction of a new field research building that will serve the
needs of the university’s Annis Water Resources Institute in Muskegon.
The new facility will be located on the site of the existing
field station building on the shores of Muskegon Lake, near the Lake
Michigan Center, 740 W. Shoreline Drive, in Muskegon. The approval
came Friday morning at the Board of Trustees meeting in Allendale.
The $3.4 million project will meet the immediate and long-term
needs of the institute and will be paid for by a combination of an
existing federal grant, private donations, and university capital
development funds.
Construction drawings are expected to be completed in June 2012,
with construction starting in August 2012. The new building is
expected to be finished by December 2013. The old field station
building will be removed to make space for the new facility.
The new building will include state-of-the-art laboratories
dedicated to studying the emerging issues facing Lake Michigan in the
21st century, a mesocosm (tanks) facility, boat loading bay,
researcher and graduate student offices, secure storage, and will
cover 14,800 gross square feet.
The building will be designed and built to meet stringent LEED
certification standards by using materials and systems that will be
selected for their durability, sustainability, energy efficiency, and
their ability to decrease long-term maintenance and operations costs.
Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr, and Huber, Inc. will serve as the project architect.
The Annis Water Resources Institute at the Lake Michigan Center
on Muskegon Lake includes classrooms, conference areas, analytical
labs, research labs, mesocosms, dock space, and ship support. AWRI
promotes collaborative research and educational programming and offers
research space and equipment to collaborative efforts. As part of the
research mission, AWRI operates two research vessels, the D.J.
Angus and the W.G. Jackson, and offers the Water
Resources Outreach Education Program for K-12 schools and community groups.
DOWNLOADABLE AUDIO
* Al Steinman, director of the Annis Water Resources Institute, said the new research building is a move forward in transformational science to battle pressing problems in the Great Lakes, like invasive species and climate change (audio).
* Steinman said Great Lakes research conducted by AWRI is across the spectrum (audio).
* Steinman said AWRI researchers are also studying toxic blooms on the Great Lakes (audio).
* Steinman said the impact of having the new research facility is significant for West Michigan (audio).
