Beyond repair

Crews demolish Financial Services Building after November fire

Kelly Jasper / senior photographer The Financial Services Building, which was damaged last November by a fire, was torn down last week to make room for its replacement.

The JMU Financial Services Building that caught fire last November was torn down last week while architectural plans still are in the works for its replacement in 2006.

Damages from the incident, deriving mainly from flooding by water hoses and weather, will amount to between $2.5 and $3 million, according to Fred Hilton, JMU's director of media relations.

The fire originated in an old extension cord that remained in the building after it was purchased by JMU five years ago.

The building had to be torn down because of structural damage and was untenable.

Hilton said the state would cover most of the costs from the fire, as JMU is likely to be reimbursed because it is self-insured. The new building, which Hilton said should cost around $5 million, probably will be twice the size of the old one, growing from 16,000 to 38,000 square feet.

Hilton said the building is not completely designed and plans still need to be improved, but JMU and its architects would like for it to be two stories high. The university then will set specifications for the building, put out bids to construction companies and the lowest bidder will erect the building.

Construction may begin toward the end of this year 2004, but more than likely at the beginning of next year, Hilton said.

"A number of approvals [are required for the building], and state agencies — such as a state engineering agency — have to approve of the plan [because] we are a public university," Hilton said. Construction then will take about a year, he added.

Immediately after the fire, the 50 to 60 employees were relocated to different offices throughout campus. "Almost literally the day after the fire, everything was back up and running," Hilton said. The employees first were sent to temporary offices, such as Williamson Lab, and then were sent either to Warren Hall or the Court Square One office building downtown.

Wayne Durrer, the director of procurement services at JMU, was one of those relocated to Court Square One. "Most of the university never knew we skipped a beat," he said.

Durrer said his office lost files, computers and furnishings to water damage, but added that people from inside and outside the JMU community were pitching in to help. He said that people from Carrier Library offered assistance with document restoration and temporary offices were offered from otherbusinesses in Harrisonburg.

"It's really remarkable how quickly the university was and how quick things started working here," Durrer said. "[It was] a massive effort, and it turned out to be a very positive situation from a very bad one."

Hilton said that those employees who relocated, such as Durrer, all will move into the new building when it is constructed.

Claudia Clark, director of payroll services, who currently is situated on the second floor of the Court Square One building, said, "We don't plan on moving until the new building is completed."