Compounding the escalating costs associated with the University of Iowa’s construction of its 14-story Stead Family Children’s Hospital, campus officials are asking permission to spend $45 million replacing damaged windows on nine floors — tripling the $15 million they originally planned to spend replacing cracked or delaminated windows on two floors.
The hospital, opened six years ago, “is experiencing systemic issues with the windows failing to perform consistent with the agreed upon specifications,” according to the university’s new request for permission from the Board of Regents to spend the higher amount resolving the issues of “delamination and cracking.”
As part of that total cost, the university — upon advice from window experts — has installed a protective film and mechanical clips on all the windows deemed “potential safety hazards to provide additional protection to assure the safety of all patients, visitors and staff.”
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Officials have stressed the defective windows don’t pose a threat to patients, employees, visitors or the public.
But the additional, unplanned expense — plus mounting legal fees associated with a long-running dispute with a contractor on the project — could further balloon the soaring cost of the 507,000-square-foot hospital, originally budgeted at $270.8 million.
With the $45 million window expenditure — plus another $16 million a judge last month ordered the UI pay contractor Modern Piping of Cedar Rapids — the hospital price tag could reach $450 million, a 66 percent increase from the initial estimate.
Although UI officials said in board documents made public Tuesday that UI Health Care will cover the window expenses with its own building usage funds, the university last summer sued two contractors that installed 900-some windows in the towering facility.
But that legal case was stalled in September after a judge agreed to compel arbitration in response to arguments from the contractors, who said their contract with UIHC required disputes be handled that way.
“The procedural questions presented are for the arbitrator, and not this court, to decide,” a judge wrote in his order.
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UIHC officials reported first discovering window issues on floors four and five — along with windows on a connector bridge to the main hospital — in July 2019, just two years after the hospital opened in 2017.
This week’s ask to spend millions more indicates windows now need replacing on levels three through 11.
www.thegazette.com
The hospital, opened six years ago, “is experiencing systemic issues with the windows failing to perform consistent with the agreed upon specifications,” according to the university’s new request for permission from the Board of Regents to spend the higher amount resolving the issues of “delamination and cracking.”
As part of that total cost, the university — upon advice from window experts — has installed a protective film and mechanical clips on all the windows deemed “potential safety hazards to provide additional protection to assure the safety of all patients, visitors and staff.”
Advertisement
Officials have stressed the defective windows don’t pose a threat to patients, employees, visitors or the public.
But the additional, unplanned expense — plus mounting legal fees associated with a long-running dispute with a contractor on the project — could further balloon the soaring cost of the 507,000-square-foot hospital, originally budgeted at $270.8 million.
With the $45 million window expenditure — plus another $16 million a judge last month ordered the UI pay contractor Modern Piping of Cedar Rapids — the hospital price tag could reach $450 million, a 66 percent increase from the initial estimate.
Although UI officials said in board documents made public Tuesday that UI Health Care will cover the window expenses with its own building usage funds, the university last summer sued two contractors that installed 900-some windows in the towering facility.
But that legal case was stalled in September after a judge agreed to compel arbitration in response to arguments from the contractors, who said their contract with UIHC required disputes be handled that way.
“The procedural questions presented are for the arbitrator, and not this court, to decide,” a judge wrote in his order.
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UIHC officials reported first discovering window issues on floors four and five — along with windows on a connector bridge to the main hospital — in July 2019, just two years after the hospital opened in 2017.
This week’s ask to spend millions more indicates windows now need replacing on levels three through 11.
Costs to replace UI Children’s Hospital windows could triple to $45M
Compounding escalating costs associated with the University of Iowa’s construction of its 14-story Stead Family Children’s Hospital, campus officials are asking permission to spend $45 million replacing damaged windows on nine floors – tripling the $15 million they originally planned to spend...
www.thegazette.com
