Houstonian: Farrington to undergo more renovations

From the Houstonian:

The Farrington building will get more of a facelift than originally anticipated. Barlett Cocke Contractors was awarded an $18 million contract on Nov. 19. $2.5 million will go toward further renovation of the 45-year-old building.

Barlett Cocke Contractors has worked extensively within the academic and medical community. They were able to present a bid that was $3 million under what was expected for the construction of a new science building and renovation of one-quarter of the Farrington Building. The savings will provide the funds needed for the renovation of the entire building.

The renovations are planned for the Christmas and summer breaks. Construction began in March 2004 on the building to be the new home to the chemistry and forensic science departments. The work on the construction of the 62,000-square foot science building is expected to be complete by May 2005. Renovations to Farrington should be completed by January 2006, which will continue to house the physics department.

The original cost of the Farrington Building when it was built in 1959 was $2.5 million. "There was originally a small observatory on the roof that was used for astronomy classes but an increase of light from the expanding university and community eventually made the telescope obsolete," according to Buildingshsu.com.

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