With all the construction going on this summer, it may seem like the entire Iowa State campus is being renovated.

Dean McCormick, assistant director of Facilities Planning and Management, said this past year has been a busy one for construction.

“Usually, we have from 50 to 60 projects going on,” he said. “They range in size from $25,000 to $25 million.”

McCormick said this year was especially busy, though.

“It’s heavy compared to previous years. We’ve done something in the order of $40 million worth of construction in the last 12 months here on campus, and that’s pretty impressive,” he said.

Two of the largest projects being done are new structures Howe Hall and the Palmer Human Development and Family Studies Building, which both will be completed in the fall, he said.

Roger Graden, project manager for Howe Hall, said the engineering building will be completed by the end of August.

“[We are] pretty much just getting the finishes done: painting, flooring, ceiling installation and lights installation,” he said.

Another project Graden is working on is the Student Services Building renovation.

“We’re just getting started on that one,” he said. “The first level will be totally torn out and worked on. The second level is a combination of refinishing and demolition and rebuilding. The third level is primarily refinishing.”

Scott Fankey, project manager for the Palmer Building, said the building should be complete by Christmas.

“We’re in construction,” he said. “Right now, one of the big focuses is they’re starting to put the exterior wall panels in place.”

There also is work going on inside the building, he said.

“The masonry walls are still going up; the mechanical subcounters are installing their work,” he said. “We’ve started putting up the metal studs.”

Graden said the finished building will house the Child Development Laboratory School, the Family Financial Counseling Clinic and the Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic.

McCormick said the university’s needs determine what repairs are made.

“The construction on campus is based on the needs of the academic projects on campus,” he said.

He said the amount of repairs being made this summer is proportional to the entire year.

“Construction is certainly a seasonal activity,” he said. “However, here at Iowa State, we always have projects going on.”

The kinds of construction being done varies seasonally, McCormick said.

“In the summer, we work on getting walls enclosed,” he said. “In the winter, we do everything.”

No time of the year is busier than others, he said.

“There is no season for small projects and no season for big projects,” he said.

However, Troy Lux, superintendent of Welker Construction in Marshalltown, said the company has more business in the summer because the weather is more formidable.

“We stay busy pretty much year- round, but in the summer you got a lot going on,” he said.

He said the company currently is working on renovations to the Farm House Museum and Maple, Willow, Larch, Oak and Elm dormitories.

Other projects being worked on, according to the Iowa State facilities homepage, include the Beardshear Hall remodeling, the College of Design building auditorium addition, the Communication Building remodeling and addition, the Intensive Livestock Research and Instructional Facility construction, the Jack Trice Stadium football practice fields construction and the State Gymnasium remodeling.