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CENTER OF ACTIVITY

Northland College projects impact downtown Ashland

With campus center complete, school turns to theater, athletic field

By Ellen Hickok-Wall

A clock tower is seen through the dimensions of "Exercises" by Israeli sculptor Leon Bronstein. The art was donated to Northland College in Ashland by June and Craig Ponzio, major contributors for the construction of the $7.5 million June & Craig Ponzio Campus Center, which opened this spring.

While students gather, meet and eat at the Northland College June & Craig Ponzio Campus Center in Ashland, workers are putting the finishing touches on the 48,000-plus-square-foot building.

The students in the center are actually using a building they helped plan, said Erik Guenard, construction manager at the private college in the northern corridor of the state.

"We hold open sessions when the buildings are being built for student input," he said.

Contractors on the $7.5 million project used green-building design techniques throughout the job, Guenard said.

"We're an environmental liberal arts college and we're walking the walk," he said. "The building finished 46 percent better than code."

Green-building elements incorporated into the campus center include:

recycled structural framework steel, steel studs, toilet partitions, carpet, rubber entrance mats and ceiling tile;

low-flow toilets and waterless urinals;

high-energy-saving windows and energy-saving window shades;

use of low-volatile organic compounds, paints and chemicals;

day-lighting integration;

efficient HVAC components;

waterproof foundation panels;

a sustainable metal roof;

integrated heat-recovery systems and storm-water design.

"Outside of our buildings, we maintain and control all of our storm water through retention ponds and holding ponds," Guenard said.

"When it rains, all of that water is gathered by the ground and thrown right into the river or the creek.

"We hold back that water to reduce storm surges and erosion by rivers that overflow," he said. "We try to clean the water that will be put back into the rivers and streams."

Stahl Construction, Minnetonka, Minn., was the general contractor on the project, while Davis Design, of Lincoln, Neb., was the project architect.

Complementing the downtown

A bronze “exerciser” greets visitors to the June & Craig Ponzio Campus Center at Northland College, Ashland. An arched entry to the center is inscribed with the Ponzio names, welcoming students to the 48,000-plus-square-foot building, which was built using green-building elements.

The new center will serve an integral role in student life, Guenard said.

"It will house our student services, business office, registrar, student development, financial aid and food service," he said.

As the new center is to the school, so the school is to the city of Ashland, said David Frasher, city administrator, who said Northland College plays an integral role in the city's business climate.

With the campus center virtually completed, he said, the college plans to break ground soon for a $700,000 athletic field. And that's not all.

"We just got our first set of plan submittals from Northland College for a $12 million performing arts center," Frasher said.

The center will feature a 750-seat theater for drama, music, dance, lectures and other events. An art gallery with student gallery space, studios, music practice rooms and a rehearsal hall also will be included in the design.

"We'll be adding a second floor onto our library for the art and music," Guenard said. "And our theater will have a gallery enclosed in the front of the building."

The general contractor for the arts center is PCL, Burnsville, Minn., he said.

"We'll hopefully be able to start sometime this summer," Guenard said, adding that the project is waiting for short-term financing.

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