Workers from Linfield’s Capital Planning Department intend to have asbestos removed from the college’s former library, Northup Hall, by the end of March, John Hall, senior director of capital planning, said.
Renovations to the building will not begin until Spring Semester is finished and all asbestos is removed.
“We are hopeful that construction will begin in the summer of 2010,” Glenn Ford, vice president for finance and administration, said. “At this time, it is unknown if the project will start this year or at a later date.”
Ford’s office is in charge of the project. According to an e-mail from him, renovations include new classrooms, offices, computer labs and a writing lab and will be the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design building certified at Linfield.
LEED certification is the top-tier designation for buildings evaluated by the U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington, D.C., non-profit organization that promotes sustainability through environmentally friendly buildings, according to its Web site.
Funding for Northup’s renovations is entirely from external sources, Ford said. In an e-mail, he cited a $3 million donation for the old library’s facelift from the vice chair of the Linfield College Board of Trustees, T.J. Day, and a promise of $500,000 by trustee Ronni LaCroute.
The renovations will be performed by a construction company, not Linfield Facilities Services. According to an e-mail from Ford, Linfield is accepting bids from five companies that it considers to be reputable, but he declined to provide their names.
“We are comfortable that all five firms are first rate,” Ford said.
Ford declined to guess at the cost of the project because fundraising is still in progress and bids from the construction companies are not finished.
A bid will be officially accepted in June or July. Ford said he does not expect the fundraising to be finished when the renovation begins.
“We are striving to identify commitments for the entire project prior to construction,” Ford said.
When the renovations are complete, Northup will be home to parts of the business, economics, English
and philosophy departments, Ford said. It will also house the Center for Northwest Studies.
The center is an endeavor to connect Linfield students to Northwest communities, Jeff Peterson, associate professor of sociology and anthropology, said. The center will support internships, community service and research centered on the Northwest.
The center has an office in Nicholson Library but plans to expand into the space created for it following renovations.
Northup was vacated in 2003, after the construction of Nicholson Library, to clear asbestos from the building.

Joshua Ensler
News editor Joshua Ensler can be reached at [email protected]