After completion of the Leading Energy Savings and Sustainability (LESS) project, Winona State University is getting ready to take the first step to improve its campuses both in Winona and Rochester.

On Wednesday, Nov. 9, Winona State held a zoom conference to outline ideas for the Comprehensive Facilities Plan, which was titled “Our Brilliant Tomorrow”. The main goals of this plan are to uphold the University’s commitment to diversity and inclusivity, create adaptive spaces for students, reinforce academic excellence, support growth in the Rochester campus and improve sustainability.

Representatives from the construction company Hammel, Green, and Abrahamson, or HGA, were present at the presentation to talk about the new construction projects that the university plans to undertake as part of their comprehensive facilities plan.

One of the key construction plans focused on during the presentation was the eventual demolition of Gildemeister, Watkins and Prentiss-Lucas Halls in order to make way for the Center for Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Engagement, and Learning (CICEL) project and the campus mall. This project will not be put into motion anytime soon though.

Nathan Engstrom, who has been the Sustainability and Planning Director for Winona State since 2017, offered some context onto what this means.

To put it simply, Engstrom stated that the CICEL building will just be replacing Gildemeister and Watkins Halls as a new academic building.

According to Engstrom, the two buildings are “among the worst in terms of age, condition and functionality.”

Engstrom went on to state that the university had already had a “pre-existing plan” to replace those two buildings.

As for the campus mall, it is not actually a shopping center as the name might imply. It is a large, outdoor green space that will be where Gildemeister and Watkins currently stand. The CICEL building is planned to take the place of Prentiss-Lucas Halls.

Due to current enrollment numbers at Winona State, Engstrom said that “we probably don’t need all the existing on-campus housing we have in its current configuration.”

Engstrom also said that the reason the university wants to construct this campus mall is because the school does not “have any large outdoor gathering space.”

Many other universities have a space like this, and Winona State plans to join in on that trend.

With the proposed demolition of Prentiss-Lucas Hall also comes the possibility for the construction of a new residence hall as well as renovations being made to some of the existing buildings.

Engstrom said that these changes could benefit students “in a lot of ways.”

Engstrom also claimed that all these renovations and new constructions could make certain parts of the campus “more pleasant places to be in.”

Another potential benefit Engstrom listed was making the campus more modern and “better accommodating today’s needs.”

Finally, Engstrom mentioned that they could lower the costs the University spends to maintain these buildings, which theoretically may lower student fees and tuition, though it is important to mention that this is in no way guaranteed.

Everything is still in the planning stage at the moment, which means nothing can be guaranteed.

There is also currently no estimated price for how much all these projects may cost for the university. James Goblirsch, Assistant Vice President for Facilities Management, answered questions at the end of the presentation and stated that the university would be on the lookout for any potential sources of funding for these plans.

For more information on Winona State’s Comprehensive Facilities Plan, the slideshow presentation has been posted to the Winona State website under Facilities Services. Click here to view the slideshow.

*Updated 11/16/22 to reflect the correct locations of the campus mall and CICEL building.