MTU ANNOUNCES LOW BIDS
FOR PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
HOUGHTON--Bids for Michigan Tech's new Rozsa Performing Arts and Educational Center came in right on target, according to Bill Blumhardt, the University's director of Facilities Management. The groundbreaking ceremony for the facility is set for 4:00 p.m. on May 22.
Bids for construction total $15,121,419, with Gundlach Champion of Houghton as the general contractor, August Winter & Sons of Appleton,WI the mechanical contractor, and J. Ranck Electric of Sault Ste. Marie as the electrical contractor. The University's bid target was $15,200,000, Blumhardt said.
The Rozsa Center will be built on the field just east of the Walker Arts and Humanities Center. The facility will include a 1,200-seat auditorium, rehearsal rooms for instrumental and vocal ensembles, offices for the Office of Cultural Enrichment and the Department of Fine Arts, and the largest stage this side of Green Bay.
The Michigan Tech Fund has raised $15 million privately for the project and the state has appropriated an additional $5 million. The construction bid leaves roughly $5 million for professional fees, construction management, equipment and furnishings. The building is scheduled to open in September 2000.
The facility is named for Ted and Lola Rozsa, who have provided major gifts for the Center, and have endowed a major scholarship fund that supports more than 100 students each year. Ted Rozsa is a 1936 graduate of Michigan Tech.
The Rozsa Center will provide a new home for all of the plays, musicals, dance companies, speakers, and other cultural enrichment offerings that come to campus each year. It will also be home to the Department of Fine Arts and the more than 1,000 students that participate in one of the instrumental and vocal ensembles, theater, and other on-campus arts groups each year.
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05/06/98-MTN062