Utah Tech University’s Human Performance Center cost $44.5 million to build and still shows signs of wear and tear.
The HPC was remodeled and finished in 2019 for students to use. Since then, it has started to show signs of damage.
The contractor for the building has made repairs to the roof and other damages since the building was finished and has not charged the university any additional fees.
“The building is still a 50 year building and will last that long,” said Sherry Ruesch, assistant vice president of facilities management. “I imagine that students seeing rust or water damage have been concerned, but those have been and will be repaired back to new.”
The HPC has had multiple water leaks in the roof that has led to a continuous leak on the third floor mainly affecting the indoor track.
Tessa Lund, HPC facility supervisor, said the leak on the third floor does affect the track usage in some ways. It tends to leak during heavy rainstorms, in which case a garbage can is placed below the leak to catch the water. She also said she is not sure whether this will cause future problems for floors below, but it is possible.
Nathan Brown, a sophomore digital film major from Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, uses the HPC facilities twice a week and hasn’t been bothered by the damages to the building.
“[I] mostly see scuffs on the walls but nothing too serious,” Brown said. “Expect sometimes the bikes and elliptical computers freeze and it won’t let you start a workout.”
The damages have affected how students are able to use the facilities the HPC provides. Due to damages, some areas of the HPC are frequently closed off for construction.
Lund said the roof of the building has been closed for many months. The roof just opened after 3 months and can now be used by students again.
“Although areas sometimes get closed for construction, they try to complete the projects as quickly as possible,” Lund said.
There has been construction on the HPC for the past few weeks; Ruesch said 90% of the construction has been on the south roof where there have been continuous leaks. The other 10% of construction has been for inside spaces damaged by the water leak.
“We fix damage or wear caused by the large number of students passing through there every day,” Ruesch said. “We have covered walls with protection where possible and the building feels clean.”
Facilities Management has tested for mold due to the continued leaks in the roof and found the building to be safe from a possible mold problem. Ruesch said because our climate is dry, mold isn’t typically an issue when concerning water leaks. Any areas that had been affected by water damage have been replaced by contractors.
There have been open wires in a classroom in the HPC for a couple of weeks now from a TV that needed to be replaced after getting water damage from the leaks in the building. Management is working on replacing the TV and covering the wires to protect students from harm by the exposed wires.
It’s expected to have damage and wear in a building so frequently used by students, and university facilities have the necessary funds to fix any damage caused by student use.
