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Minnesota State urges HEAPR funding and requests demolition/repair dollars as system faces aging facilities
Summary
Minnesota State presented its 2025 capital request stressing HEAPR as the top priority, and asked for operating items including $25 million for demolition and $50 million for repair and replacement. Officials said the system is overbuilt for current enrollment and carries a growing deferred-maintenance backlog.
Bridal Swanson, associate vice chancellor for Facilities at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, told the Capital Investment Committee that Minnesota State’s top capital priority is HEAPR to preserve existing buildings rather than add new space.
Swanson described a statewide portfolio of approximately 28,000,000 square feet across 843 structures and said deferred renewal is growing because funding has not kept pace with inflation and rising construction costs. Minnesota State’s operating request includes $25,000,000 in one‑time demolition funds and $50,000,000 in non‑recurring repair and replacement funds; Swanson said the $25 million demolition request would target about 16 buildings totaling roughly 500,000 square feet, and that the system has identified up to 1,300,000 square feet of space it could remove if funding were available.
Swanson said HEAPR funds repairs to roofs, windows, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, code and accessibility work and energy-efficiency upgrades, and that HEAPR rules are strict about allowable uses. She noted that Minnesota State has pursued a “no net growth” approach since 2020 and that some previously funded design projects are ready for construction funding.
Several members pressed Minnesota State about long-term enrollment trends and the possibility of campus consolidation or closures. Representative Hansen asked whether the system should consider a formal review or commission on campus closures; Swanson said such a decision would be appropriate for the chancellor and the Board of Trustees and suggested the topic is a larger, system-level policy question. Committee members voiced concern about maintaining access for rural students while addressing the state’s fiscal constraints.
The committee received Minnesota State’s overview and a list of previously funded design projects; no bonding vote was taken at this hearing.
