Coffman Renovation

Coffman's renovation is part of the University of Minnesota's Riverbend Commons development project, which lies south of Washington Ave. on the East Bank campus. The aim of this more than $153 million investment was to revitalize this area and restore the original architectural plan for the Northrop Mall that visually connected the campus to the Mississippi River. The other components of the Riverbend Commons project include:

• A new 1,900-car parking garage behind Coffman, with 400 short-term spaces; Opened January 2002.
• A new 400+-bed apartment-style residence hall behind Coffman; Opened Fall 2002.
• A new plaza area, similar to Northrop Mall, with a cascading grassy landscape perfect for student use and programming; Opened Fall 2002.

Goals of the Coffman Renovation

• Add more student-centered services, such as a computer lab; walk-up internet kiosk stations; a central 46,000 square-foot bookstore complete with a Starbucks® coffee shop; both social and quiet lounges and study space; a 400-seat, multi-use theater; a food court with a wide variety of choice and national brands (see tenant list); expanded student organization office space; campus security escort station; in addition to a post office, discount tickets and copy center.
• Re-establish Coffman as the center of student life and activities on campus.
• Make Coffman more user-friendly, brighter, comfortable ("homey"), and student-oriented, while returning it to its rich, 1940's charm.
• Upgrade and air condition the aging building structures and achieve ADA and code compliance.

Building History

• Coffman Union was built in the late 1930's at a cost of $2 million, funded primarily by student fees and a public works administration grant. The building opened in fall 1940.
• The building was initially designed to accommodate a student body of 14,000.
• Coffman was remodeled during the mid-70s to accommodate 42,000 students.
• Air conditioning was pulled out of the 1970s project due to lack of student fee funding.
• In 1999, the Student Services Fees Committee approved $37.5 million in student fees and $7.5 million in post-renovation Coffman revenues to fund the renovation.

Read complete Coffman Memorial Union history.

Need for Renovation

The plans for Coffman’s renovation began more than a decade ago with a push from students on Coffman’s Board of Governors to respond to costly repairs on aging building systems. Five years later, student research indicated that Coffman was not effectively serving the campus community. The fall 1998 survey specifically indicated that Coffman was not providing 7 of the top 10 services students wanted in their union, such as more short term parking, a bookstore, air conditioning, computer lab, more quiet lounge space, food choices with national and local brands, and a first-run movie theater, all of which will be provided by the newly renovated Coffman, with the exception of the theater hosting first-run movies (the theater will host second-run films). In addition, Coffman’s building structures needed upgrading to achieve code and ADA compliance. The renovated Coffman will provide the types of services students today and in the future need to support their college education.

Timeline

Student Service Fee Decision		Mar. 1999
Program and Building Design		Apr.–Nov. 1999
Coffman Closed/Tenants Relocated		Nov. 1999
Asbestos Abatement and Interior Demolition		Nov. 1999–July 2000
Sent Request for Proposal (RFP) for Design/Bid/Build Contractor		Apr. 2000
No bids received - deadline extended		May 2000
Bids due		July 2000
Reject bids - all bids came in over budget		Sept. 2000
Moved project into Design/Build method		Oct.–Nov. 2000
Sent out revised RFP		Nov. 2000
Design/Build bids due		Dec. 2000
Hired Ryan Companies		Jan. 2001
Redefined project scope		Jan. - May 2001
Regents approve re-design and new budget estimate		May 2001
Construction began		June 2001
Tenants start moving in		Dec. 2002
Open to the public		January 21, 2003
Reopening Celebration		Spring Semester 2003