Wayne State University's Board of Governors has approved the issuance of up to $132 million of callable general revenue bonds for terms of up to 25or 30 years. The bonds will finance new construction, renovation, repair and maintenance and the refinancing of existing bonded indebtedness.

New buildings to be financed include a campus Fitness Center, a Welcome Center, a parking deck, and an addition to the Law School. The funds also will be used to upgrade telecommunication networks within certain campus buildings, complete repair and renovation projects and to reconfigure space in the Undergraduate Library to create an Academic Success Center.

The Campus Fitness Center is a planned exercise, recreational and wellness facility to be located in the central campus area. Partial funding for the $15million center has been requested from the state of Michigan, with the rest coming from the bond issue and, possibly, private contributions.

The Welcome Center, which is currently planned for a site at Cass Avenue and Warren, will serve as a gateway to the university. The $14 million facility will include space to house University Admissions, the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid and other student related activities. It may also include space for the University Bookstore, with some financing to be provided by the operator.

The Law School Expansion/Renovation Project, a 51,000 sq. ft. addition that will be funded in part by private gifts to the university, will house student services and expanded library facilities as well as large and small auditoriums for Moot Court. The $15.6 million cost of the addition and renovation will also provide a new front entrance to the Law School along Palmer Avenue. About $5.4 million of the total cost will be provided by the bond issue, with proceeds from a special $12 per-credit-hour facilities fee for law students and a general fund allocation applied to meet the debt service on the bonds.

The university's ongoing project to improve communications through installation of a fiber optic network will be completed in 1999. The next phase consists of upgrading telecommunications networks within selected buildings. The bond issue will provide $12.5 million for that phase of the project.

The new Parking Garage for 550 to 650 vehicles will be in the vicinity of the new College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions, to be located at the south end of the Detroit Medical Center (DMC), near John R and Mack. Work on the Pharmacy Building is to begin in 1999 and be completed in the summer of2001, when parking for students, employees and visitors will be needed. Total cost is estimated between $5.75 and $6.5 million, with $4 million provided by the bond issue. There are ongoing discussions with the DMC to provide part of the financing.

An Academic Success Center is planned for part of the David Adamany Undergraduate Library. Programs to assist students as they matriculate, such as academic advising, counseling and various retention programs, will be brought together through a reconfiguration of space in the library, perhaps where the bookstore is now located. Project cost is $4 million.

An additional $4.75 million from the bond sale has been reserved for other renovation and deferred maintenance projects, the largest of which is phase I renovation of Parking Structure No. 1 at Cass and Palmer at a cost of $3 million.