Future Use of the Brooks Building

Background
      Funds for the Brooks Building deferred maintenance project are currently available and need to be used as soon as possible. In order to do so however, Facilities Services must develop a scope or work for the project, including use and occupancy, and then present this plan to the Board of Regents for their approval. As part of an initial planning activity, the administration has offered several ideas to the MPC for future use of the Brooks Building.

First Considerations by the MPC
       The MPC believes that the Brooks Building project provides UAF with a unique opportunity to plan the future use of a historic building in a way that will both maximize the facility's potential and address some critical space needs on campus. While it is most encouraged by the administration's initial suggestions and MPC's discussion with Phyllis Fast was very thought provoking, these represent only a first consideration of obvious options. Serious long-term planning requires a more substantial demonstration that all the candidates on a short list of options presented to the MPC have substantial merit. The recommendation provided herein are directed towards our vision of how long-term planning should be carried out. The MPC believes that it has neither the resources nor administrative authority to independently gain the needed information. The MPC is not trying to avoid work, but is trying to foster at UAF a more systematic process through which we collectively make decisions of great benefit.

Recommendation
      The MPC is concerned with long-term planning and to that end encourages a thoughtful planning process from the outset as opposed to haste and then waste. It is recommended that the following three steps be taken by the administration in planning for future use of the Brooks Building. Understanding that time is critical, completion dates need to be specified.

Step 1. Evaluation Task Force
       The administration should appoint a small task force (no more than about five individuals including at least one member of the MPC) with administrative authority to gain needed information from departments. With this information the task force should develop a short list of candidates and prepare a draft use and occupancy plan for the building, applying the following criteria:

1. The Brooks Building should house a unit or units that have a clearly identifiable and related mission. Being located in the core campus, this mission should focus on academics and/or student services. The MPC does not support the use of the building to house administrative and/or units with unrelated functions simply as a quick solution to current space dilemmas.

2. The MPC strongly endorses the concept of a "theme" building and believes that the theme will develop rather obviously as part of this work. By selecting units that are similar in function, opportunities for collaboration and synergy will increase. This will benefit students, faculty, and staff. Some possible themes that have already been identified, and others may possible:
   • Center for native and cross-cultural studies
   • The school of education
   • Student services center.

3. The revitalization of an older building presents certain challenges. The task force must consider the following when evaluating potential occupants for the Brooks Building:
   • Units that require laboratory facilities should not be considered. Current funding is limited, and laboratories are extremely expensive.
   • Units considered for occupancy should not require significant changes to the existing floor plan of the building. The current configuration consists primarily of office and classroom space. The building does not lend itself to significant structural change; therefore, minimizing such changes will be beneficial. The present auditorium must be retained for academic programs.
   • In light of funding limitations, units that have the potential to attract additional funding for improvements to the building should be given consideration.

4. The historic significance of the Brooks Building must be evident within the building. The MPC recommends that a display of Alaska mining history be located in a common area such as a conference room or the first level corridor. Additionally, naming the auditorium after a prominent figure in Alaska mining history should be considered.

5. Consideration for growth must be included in the planning process. A TBD percent of the building space should be reserved for demonstrated growth potential of the occupants. Space reserved for this use can be used temporarily as surge space for other units affected by building project displacements.

Step 2. Space Analysis
      Using the recommendations of the task force, a detailed space analyses of the units potentially involved will be conducted by the Space Planning and Management Office. The Brooks Building must provide office, classroom, and related space necessary to support the functions of the unit(s) identified for occupancy.

Step 3. Presentation to the MPC
       The task force should then meet with the MPC to review the space analyses information and a final use and occupancy plan for the Brooks Building. The MPC must verify that the task force and the Space Planning and Management Office obtained the help and advice of each potentially affected unit to fully understand immediate and future needs and the impact of such a move. The MPC will then make a formal recommendation to the chancellor from the short list of candidate occupants.

     The MPC suspects that in the process of developing the Brooks Building plan the task force will discover units that require more space than the Brooks Building can provide. As part of the overall UAF planning process, those documented needs must be forwarded to the administration and the MPC to become part of the ongoing plan for buildings and space at UAF.

Recommendations directory

University of Alaska Fairbanks
Tanana Valley Campus
PO Box 8040-UAF

Phone: +1 907 474 7920
Fax:    +1 907 474 6725
fndlm5@uaf.edu