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Educational Settlement Finance

Giovanni Paolo Panini, An architectural capriccio with figures among Roman ruins

The post-pandemic #WiseCampus transformation requires significant capital to meet the sustainability goals of its leadership.  Campuses are cities-within-cities and are, to a fair degree, financed in a similar fashion.  Tax-free bonds are an effective instrument for school districts, colleges and universities — and the host community in which they are nested — for raising capital for infrastructure projects while also providing investors with, say $10,000 to $100,000, to allocate toward a tax-free dividend income stream that produces a return in the range of 2 to 8 percent annually.

An aging population may be receptive to investment opportunities that protect their retirement savings from taxation.

Once a month, we walk through the prospectuses of one or two bond offerings of school districts, colleges and universities and examine offering specifics regarding infrastructure construction, operations and maintenance.  We pay particular attention to details regarding “continuing operations”. Somehow the education industry has to pay for its green agenda.  See our CALENDAR for the next Finance colloquium; open to everyone.

The interactive map provided by Electronic Municipal Market Access identifies state-by-state listings of tax-free bonds that contribute to the construction and operation of education facilities; some of which involved university-affiliated medical research and healthcare delivery enterprises.

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR INTERACTIVE MAP

 

If you need help cutting through this list please feel free to click in any day at 11 AM Eastern time.  Use the login credentials at the upper right of our hope page.  We collaborate with subject matter experts at Municipal Analytics and UBS.

Issue: [Various]

Category: Administration & Management, Finance, #SmartCampus

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, John Kaczor, Liberty Ziegahn

*We see the pandemic as a driver for a step-reduction in cost in all dimensions of education communities.  We coined the term with a hashtag about two years ago.

*College and university infrastructure projects are classified with public school districts under the rubric “municipal bonds” at the moment.  CLICK HERE for more information.

 

More:

Duke Law Review:  Don’t ‘Screw Joe the Plummer’: The Sausage-Making of Financial Reform

An Expanded Study of School Bond Elections in Michigan

International Existing Building Code

“A Square with Imaginary Buildings” | Hendrik van Steenwijck (1614)

 

2024 International Existing Building Code

2025 GROUP B PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE I-CODES | April 2025

Important 2024  IEBC Changes Affecting College & University Facilities

Code Change Campus Impact
1. Occupiable Roofs New provisions coordinate rooftop occupancy requirements with the 2024 IBC. Universities converting roofs into terraces, student gathering areas, dining spaces, green roofs, or observation decks must evaluate structural capacity, means of egress, accessibility, guardrails, and fire protection.
2. Risk Category Clarification for Additions Provides clearer guidance when additions have a different occupancy than the existing building. This is particularly important for laboratory expansions, medical research buildings, student health facilities, and emergency operations centers.
3. Storm Shelter Coordination Storm shelter provisions now coordinate directly with IBC Section 423 and ICC 500. Campus projects in tornado-prone regions should verify shelter requirements early during planning.
4. Smoke Compartment Requirements Certain renovations involving healthcare occupancies, student medical clinics, and assisted-living facilities may require additional smoke compartmentation during major alterations.
5. Adult Changing Stations Projects adding toilet facilities may now require adult changing stations in certain accessible family or assisted-use restrooms. This primarily affects stadiums, arenas, student unions, libraries, and performing arts centers.
6. Exterior Wall Renovations on High-Rise Buildings Installation of combustible exterior wall coverings or envelope systems on existing high-rise buildings may trigger automatic sprinkler requirements. This should be evaluated during residence hall and research tower renovations.
7. Existing Automatic Sprinkler Systems New provisions establish conditions under which certain non-required sprinkler systems may be removed following occupancy changes. Campus owners should review this carefully before renovation projects.
8. Temporary Emergency Building Uses New Appendix E provides guidance for temporary emergency use of existing buildings. Universities can incorporate these concepts into emergency operations planning during natural disasters or public health emergencies.
9. Construction Site Safety Planning New owner responsibilities emphasize development of site safety plans and designation of responsible personnel during construction. This is especially valuable on occupied campuses where construction occurs adjacent to classrooms, residence halls, hospitals, and pedestrian routes.
10. Better Coordination with the 2024 IBC Many provisions have been reorganized or updated to improve consistency between the IEBC and the current International Building Code. Campus design teams can expect fewer conflicts between existing-building and new-construction requirements during modernization projects.

 

Facilities Most Likely to be Affected

  • Research laboratories
  • Residence halls
  • Athletic stadiums and arenas
  • Libraries
  • Student unions
  • Classroom buildings
  • Central utility plants
  • Medical schools and student health clinics
  • Performing arts centers
  • High-rise academic buildings

“`

 

November 30, 2021

 

Every month we direct our colleagues in the education industry to the US Census Department’s monthly construction report to make a point: at an average annual clip of about $75 billion, the education industry is the largest non-residential building construction market in the United States.  A large part of that construction involves infrastructure upgrades of existing buildings that contribute to sustainability goals but may not make flashy architectural statements for philanthropists.

EDUCATION INDUSTRY CONSTRUCTION SPEND

The International Existing Building Code (IEBC) is a model code in the International Code Council family of codes intended to provide requirements for repair and alternative approaches for alterations and additions to existing buildings (LEARN MORE).  A large number of existing buildings and structures do not comply with the current building code requirements for new construction.  Although many of these buildings are potentially salvageable, rehabilitation is often cost-prohibitive because compliance with all the new requirements for new construction could require extensive changes that go well beyond the value of building or the original scope of the alteration.

FREE ACCESS: 2021 International Existing Building Code

 

Education facility planners, architects and managers: Sound familiar?

ICC administered workgroups have been convening with considerable frequency over the past several months to pull together a number of relevant concepts for the next (2019 Group B) revision.  For the purpose of providing some perspective on the complexity and subtlety of the issues in play, a partial overview of working group activity is available in the links below.  Keep in mind that there are many other proposals being developed by our ICC working group and others.

IEBC Healthcare for BCAC December 11 2018

16-169 IEBC BCC Worksheet October 2-3 2018

There are other many other issues we have been tracking.  The foregoing simply presents the level of detail and subtlety that is noteworthy.

On Tuesday the ICC has released its the complete monograph for use at the Group B Committee Action Hearings, April 28-May 8 at the Albuquerque Convention Center:

2019 Group B Proposed Changes

It is a large document — 2919 pages — so keep that in mind when accessing it.  There are many issues affecting #TotalCostofOwnership of the education facility industry so we will get cracking on it again next week.   See our CALENDAR for the next online teleconference.  Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

Finally, we persist in encouraging education industry facility managers (especially those with operations and maintenance data) to participate in the ICC code development process.  You may do so by CLICKING HERE.   Real asset managers for school districts, colleges, universities and technical schools in the Albuquerque region should take advantage of the opportunity to observe the ICC code-development process.   The Group B Hearings are usually webcast — and we will signal the link to the 10-day webcast when it becomes available — but the experience of seeing how building codes are determined is enlightening when you can watch it live and on site.

 

Issue: [16-169]

Category: Architectural, Facility Asset Management, Space Planning

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Jack Janveja, Richard Robben

#StandardsNewMexico

LEARN MORE:

ICC Group B Code Development Schedule

Global Consistency in Presenting Construction & Life Cycle Costs

Research from the World Economic Forum has shown that improvements in the design and construction process can be achieved by using international standards like ICMS to gain comparable and consistent data. ICMS provides a high-level structure and format for classifying, defining, measuring, recording, analysing and presenting construction and other life-cycle costs.

CLICK ON IMAGE


Bleachers, Folding Seating & Grandstands

“View of the Colosseum” 1747 Giovanni Paolo Panini

 

Play is the making of civilization—how one plays the game

more to the point than whether the game is won or lost.

 

We follow development of best practice literature for spectator seating structures produced by the International Code Council,  the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 102),  the American Society of Civil Engineers Structural Engineering Institute (ASCE SEI-7).  There are also federal regulations promulgated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.  (Note that some of the regulations were inspired by the several regional building code non-profits before the International Code Council was formed in year ~ 2000)

The parent standard from the International Code Council is linked below:

ICC 300 Standard on Bleachers, Folding and Telescopic Seating, and Grandstands

The development of this standard is coordinated with the ICC Group A Codes.  We have tracked concepts in it previous revisions; available in the link below.

2024/2025/2026 ICC CODE DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

As always, we encourage our colleagues with workpoint experience to participate directly in the ICC Code Development process.  CLICK HERE to get started.

Issue: [15-283]

Category: Athletics & Recreation, Architectural, Public Safety

Contact: Mike Anthony, Jack Janveja, Richard Robben

Virtual reality technology in evacuation simulation of sport stadiums

LEARN MORE:

Standard for Bleachers, Folding and Telescopic Seating, and Grandstands ICC 300-2017 edition Public Comment Draft – October 2017

ANSI Coverage / ICC 300-2017: Standard for Bleachers, Folding and Telescopic Seating, and Grandstands

 

Historic Buildings

2024 / 2025 / 2026 Code Development: Group B (2025)

Complete Monograph (2630 pages)

Notre-Dame de Paris “Our Lady of Paris” Wikimedia Commons

International Existing Building Code: Chapter 12 Historic Buildings

2024/2025/2026 ICC CODE DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

Notre-Dame de Paris “Our Lady of Paris” Wikimedia Commons

2024/2025/2026 ICC CODE DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

LIVE: I-Code Groups Public Comment Hearings

Classroom Furniture

“The Country School” | Winslow Homer

The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association standards catalog — largely product (rather than interoperability oriented) is linked below:  

BIFMA Standards Overview

In stabilized standards, it is more cost effective to run the changes through ANSI rather than a collaborative workspace that requires administration and software licensing cost.  Accordingly, redlines for changes, and calls for stakeholder participation are released in ANSI’s Standards Portal:

STANDARDS ACTION WEEKLY EDITION

Send your comments to Dave Panning.  (See Dave’s presentation to the University of Michigan in the video linked below.

John Peace Laptop Library Lounge | University of Texas, San Antonio

We find a great deal of interest in sustainable furniture climbing up the value chain and dwelling on material selection and manufacture.  We encourage end-users in the education industry — specifiers, department facility managers, interior design consultants, housekeeping staff and even occupants — to participate in BIFMA  standards setting.     You may obtain an electronic copies for in-process standards from David Panning, (616) 285-3963, dpanning@bifma.org   You are encouraged to send comments directly to BIFMA (with copy to psa@ansi.org).  David explains its emergent standard for furniture designed for use in healthcare settings in the videorecording linked below:

Issue: [15-267]

Contacts: Mike Anthony, Christine Fischer, Jack Janveja, Dave Panning

Category: Architectural, Facility Asset Management

Related:

A Guide to United States Furniture Compliance Requirements

Educational Seating

Alumni Memorial Hall 1908

Michigan Central

Vogue: Beaux Arts Architecture | Donaldson and Meier Architects

Alumni Memorial Hall was built as a war memorial and multi-purpose alumni building — not originally as an art museum; though it became — and still is — a gathering point for alumni who donated their collections to the University.  Its inspiration originated in 1864 shortly after the Civil War, to honor University of Michigan students, faculty, and alumni who died in that conflict and all conflicts thereafter.

 

Cultural Resource Properties

Museum Collections Security

Sacred Spaces

ICC 300 Bleachers, Folding Seating, Grandstands

COMPLETE MONOGRAPH: 2024 GROUP A PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE I-CODES

“View of the Colosseum” 1747 Giovanni Paolo Panini

 

Play is the making of civilization—how one plays the game

more to the point than whether the game is won or lost.

 

The purpose of this standard is to establish the minimum requirements to safeguard health, safety and general welfare through structural strength, means of egress facilities, stability and safety to life and property relative to the construction, alteration, repair, operation and maintenance of new and existing temporary and permanent bench bleacher, folding and telescopic seating and grandstands.  This standard is intended for adoption by government agencies and organizations setting model codes to achieve uniformity in technical design criteria in building codes and other regulations.

FREE ACCESS: Standard on Bleachers, Folding and Telescopic Seating, and Grandstands

We are tracking the changes in the transcripts linked below:

ICC 300-2020 edition Public Input Agenda – January 2022

ICC 300-2017 edition Public Comment Draft – October 2017

Consensus Committee on Bleacher Safety (IS-BLE)

This title is on the standing agenda of our Sport, Olahraga (Indonesian), رياضة (Arabic), colloquia.   You are welcomed to join us any day at with the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

2024/2025/2026 ICC CODE DEVELOPMENT SCHEDULE

Virtual reality technology in evacuation simulation of sport stadiums

National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security

Code of Practice for Emergency Sound Systems at Sports Venues

 

Posted December 6, 2019

At the April International Code Council Group A Hearings there were three candidate code changes related to the safety standard of care for athletic venues:

E104-18 (§ 1017 regarding exit travel distances) | PDF Page 218 of the Complete Monograph

F9-18 (§ 304 regarding spaces under bleachers) | PDF Page 1021 of the Complete Monograph

F135-18 (§ 907 regarding communication systems for open air bleachers) | PDF Page 1296 of the Complete Monograph

These concepts will likely be coordinated with another ICC regulatory product — ICC 300 – Standard on Bleachers, Folding and Telescopic Seating, and Grandstands — covered here previously.   ICC 300 is a separate document but some of the safety concepts track through both.

The ICC Public Comment Hearings on Group A comments in Richmond Virginia ended a few days ago (CLICK HERE).   The balloting is being processed by the appropriate committee and will be released soon.  For the moment, we are happy to walk through the proposed changes – that will become part of the 2021 International Building Code — any day at 11 AM Eastern time.   We will walk through all athletic and recreation enterprise codes and standards on Friday, November 2nd, 11 AM Eastern time.   For access to either teleconference, click on the LIVE Link at the upper right corner of our home page.

Issue: [15-283]

Category: Athletics & Recreation, Architectural, Public Safety

Contact: Mike Anthony, Richard Robben, Jack Janveja

Link to our ICC Workspace

LEARN MORE:

 

Posted October 19, 2017

The International Code Council has launched a new revision cycle for its consensus document — ICC 300 – Standard on Bleachers, Folding and Telescopic Seating, and Grandstands.  The purpose of the effort is the development of appropriate, reasonable, and enforceable model health and safety provisions for new and existing installations of all types of bleachers and bleacher-type seating, including fixed and folding bleachers for indoor, outdoor, temporary, and permanent installations. Such provisions would serve as a model for adoption and use by enforcement agencies at all levels of government in the interest of national uniformity.

Comments are due December 4th.  The document is free.  You may obtain an electronic copy from: https://www.iccsafe.org/codes-techsupport/standards/is-ble/.  Comments may be sent to Edward Wirtschoreck, (888) 422-7233, ewirtschoreck@iccsafe with copy to psa@ansi.org)

* With some authority, we can claim that without Standards Michigan, many education industry trade associations would not be as involved in asserting the interest of facility managers in global consensus standards development processes.   See ABOUT.   

Building Structural Maintenance

φ
Any multi-story building requires inspection and maintenance of structural steel framework. The steel supports the building’s weight and resists environmental forces like wind and seismic activity. Over time, corrosion, fatigue cracks, or connection failures can weaken the structure, risking collapse. Inspections detect these issues early, while maintenance, like repainting or replacing damaged parts, preserves steel integrity. For student housing, occupant safety is critical, and compliance with building codes reduces liability risks. Neglecting these practices can lead to structural failure, endangering residents and causing costly repairs or legal issues. Regular upkeep ensures safe, long-lasting buildings.
During today’s session we examine the relevant standards with proposed revisions open for public comment.  Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
φ
No single universal code or standard guarantees that buildings will never crack or fail structurally, as structural integrity depends on various factors like design, materials, construction quality, environmental conditions, and maintenance. However, several widely adopted codes and standards aim to minimize the risk of structural failure and ensure safety, durability, and serviceability. These provide guidelines for design, construction, and maintenance to prevent issues like cracking or catastrophic failure.
φ

Key Codes and Standards:

International Building Code (IBC): Widely used in the United States and other regions, the IBC sets minimum requirements for structural design, materials, and maintenance to ensure safety and performance.  It references standards like ASCE 7 (Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures) for load calculations (e.g., wind, seismic, snow).Maintenance provisions require regular inspections and repairs to address issues like cracking or deterioration.

ACI 318 (Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete): Published by the American Concrete Institute this standard governs the design and construction of concrete structures.Includes requirements to control cracking (e.g., reinforcement detailing, concrete mix design) and ensure durability under environmental exposure.Maintenance guidelines recommend periodic inspections for cracks, spalling, or reinforcement corrosion.

AISC 360 (Specification for Structural Steel Buildings): Published by the American Institute of Steel Construction, this standard covers the design, fabrication, and erection of steel structures.  Addresses fatigue, connection design, and corrosion protection to prevent structural failure. Maintenance involves inspecting for issues like weld imperfections or coating degradation.

ASCE/SEI 41-17 (Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit of Existing Buildings):  Focuses on assessing and maintaining existing structures, particularly for seismic performance.  Guides retrofitting to address vulnerabilities like cracking or inadequate load paths.
Maintenance Standards
  • ACI 562 (Assessment, Repair, and Rehabilitation of Existing Concrete Structures):
    • Provides a framework for evaluating and repairing concrete structures to address cracking, spalling, or other damage.
    • Emphasizes regular inspections and timely repairs to maintain structural integrity.
  • NACE/SP0108 (Corrosion Control of Offshore Structures):
    • Covers maintenance practices to prevent corrosion-related failures in steel structures.
  • ASTM E2270 (Standard Practice for Periodic Inspection of Building Facades):
    • Outlines procedures for inspecting facades to identify cracking, water infiltration, or other issues that could lead to structural problems.

IEEE: Structural Health Monitoring system based on strain gauge enabled wireless sensor nodes

Steel research in the steel city

Researchers Make Wood Stronger than Steel

Concrete Matters

Elevator Safety Code

Today, special attention to managing elevator passengers trapped in elevators during power outages.  Incident management involves the following:

  1. Automatic battery-lowering systems (standard in modern elevators) gently descend the car to the nearest floor and open the doors within minutes.
  2. Backup generators or UPS units keep lights, intercoms, and ventilation running.
  3. Mandatory two-way communication and remote monitoring allow instant contact with 24/7 response teams.
  4. Fire-service phase II keys and firefighter overrides ensure rapid rescue.
  5. Clear emergency instructions and regular maintenance of brakes and overspeed governors prevent falls.

These redundancies, required by ASME A17.1 codes in most jurisdictions, have made prolonged entrapments extremely rare and almost never dangerous.

2026 National Electrical Code Article 620: Elevators, Dumbwaiters, Escalators, Moving Walks, Platform Lifts, and Stairway Chairlifts.

CMP-12 Public Input Transcript | CMP-12 Public Comment Transcript

American School & University: Modernizing Elevator Emergency Communications on School and University Campuses

Elevator,  escalator  and moving walk systems are among the most complicated systems in any urban environment, no less so than on the  #WiseCampus in which many large research universities have 100 to 1000 elevators to safely and economically operate, service and continuously commission.  These systems are regulated heavily at state and local levels of government and have oversight from volunteers that are passionate about their work.

These “movement systems” are absorbed into the Internet of Things transformation.  Lately we have tried to keep pace with the expansion of requirements to include software integration professionals to coordinate the interoperability of elevators, lifts and escalators with building automation systems for fire safety, indoor air quality and disaster management.  Much of work requires understanding of the local adaptations of national building codes.

Some university elevator O&M units use a combination of in-house, manufacturer and standing order contractors to accomplish their safety and sustainability objectives.

In the United States the American Society of Mechanical Engineers is the dominant standards developer of elevator and escalator system best practice titles;  its breakdown of technical committees listed in the link below:

A17 ELEVATORS AND ESCALATORS

STDMi: Elevator Backup Power

C&S Connect: ASME Proposals Available for Public Review

Public consultation on a new standard for electrical inspector qualifications closes May 27th.

ASME A17.7/CSA B44.7 – 20XX, Performance-based code for elevators and escalators (280 pages)

Safety Code for Existing Elevators and Escalators

Guide for Inspection of Elevators, Escalators, and Moving Walks

Guide for Elevator Seismic Design

As always, we encourage facility managers, elevator shop personnel to participate directly in the ASME Codes & Standards development process.   For example, it would be relatively easy for our colleagues in the Phoenix, Arizona region to attend one or more of the technical committee meetings; ideally with operating data and a solid proposal for improving the A17 suite.

Get Involved ASME Standards & Certification Activities

University of Wisconsin Stadium Elevator

 

All ASME standards are on the agenda of our Mechanical, Pathway and Elevator & Lift colloquia.  See our CALENDAR for the next online teleconferences; open to everyone.  Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.

 

Issue: [11-50]

Category: Electrical, Elevators, #WiseCampus

Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Jim Harvey, Richard Robben, Larry Spielvogel

 

More:

Bibliography: Elevators, Lifts and Moving Walks

ISO/TC 178 Lifts, escalators and moving walks

Human Factors Using Elevators in Emergency Evacuation

Archive / Elevator Safety Code

 

 

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