Pandemic delays construction of USM’s residence hall, student center
The University of Southern Maine is delaying construction of a new residence hall and student center on its Portland campus as a result of the pandemic.
The university said it pushed out the planned completion date for the project from the fall of 2022 to May 2023 because the crisis has delayed design and permitting.
An updated market demand analysis for the project will be conducted this fall.
“Campus leaders are conducting critical assessments of the impact of COVID-19 on current project management, potential fiscal challenges, and the long-term demand for facilities,” Mark Gardner, chair of the University of Maine System’s finance, facilities and technology committee, said in a news release.
In November, USM announced the $100 million project, expected be the largest in the university's history and the largest single undertaking funded by the 2018 University Workforce Bond.
The 577-bed student residence will be the first on USM's Portland campus.
Projects elsewhere in the University of Maine System remain underway.
Earlier this week the University of Maine at Orono held a virtual groundbreaking on the $78 million Ferland Engineering Education and Design Center with construction to begin in May and the University of Maine at Presque Isle is now taking bids for work on its nursing lab this summer.
Projects with approximately $65 million in construction costs will be underway at Maine’s public universities this construction season, the news release said.
Stable outlook
The UMaine System also reported that S&P Global last week affirmed its AA-Rating and stable outlook for UMS revenue bonds. The finding came following the agency’s review of the system's 2019 financial results, student and workforce actions related to COVID-19, and the fall 2020 enrollment outlook.
In the release, UMS said the rating recognized measures taken by the system to address the pandemic and the strength of the system’s financial resources and low debt relative to medians and peer institutions. S&P noted, however, that future enrollment or state appropriation declines would place additional financial strain on the system that is not accounted for in its report.
“The trustees and I are committed to responsible stewardship of our public resources and maintaining the fiscal stability needed to fulfill our mission to Maine students,” Chancellor Dannel Malloy said in the release.
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