The ‘Buildings-as-a-Service’ (BaaS) project incorporates the risk reduction mechanisms of Public-Private Partnership (P3) contracts so that UND provides monthly payments for the upgrades and services rather than providing valuable upfront capital for the project.
Powered by OpenBlue Enterprise Manager, the revitalization project includes the construction, renovation, and long-term operations & maintenance (O&M) of multiple new and updated student residence halls. The 30-year contract value is estimated at $219 million over its lifetime and is set to resolve significant deferred maintenance items at the university, improve the student experience by modernizing the facilities, and provide “flatlined” budget costs through the guaranteed monthly availability payments.
Customer Goals
Higher education customers are addressing deferred maintenance while improving campus infrastructure “UND is providing visionary leadership by completely revitalizing their housing program while managing risk through this highly effective and targeted long-term investment,” said Maureen Blase, Vice President and General Manager, Performance Infrastructure at Johnson Controls.
“Higher education customers increasingly are looking to address significant deferred maintenance while undertaking campus infrastructure improvement. Buildings-as-a-Service supports these improvements in a creative and customized way and because performance key performance indicators are built into the contract, customer goals are guaranteed.”
First phase design-build-finance
The first phase of the project includes a design-build-finance-maintain contract for the construction of two new student residence halls, the renovation of an existing housing facility, and the demolition of obsolete student apartments and residence halls. In total, approximately 1,000 new beds will be added to the campus and over 370,000 square feet of campus buildings will be impacted.
As part of the construction and renovation, Johnson Controls will implement Metasys® building automation systems (BAS), chilled water systems, and air systems in the managed facilities. To ensure all energy, cost, and performance targets are met over the 30-year period, the residences will be integrated and managed with OpenBlue Enterprise Manager.
These connected, data-powered implementations will modernize residence halls to deliver long-term student satisfaction and maintain comfortable conditions while maximizing energy efficiency.
investment in students wellbeing
Johnson Controls performed over $6M in HVAC updates to the campus in 2020, replacing air handling units and filtration “The campus experience is of the utmost importance when considering capital improvements." – Mike Pieper, Associate Vice President for facilities at UND.
“We remain committed to delivering healthy, safe and comfortable campus environments to students and staff. The updates being made to our housing facilities are an investment in our current and future students’ wellbeing and overall experience at our university.”
experts’ cost analysis
The BaaS model transfers certain project operational risks to Johnson Controls. Design decisions made over the 30-year contract will be made based on experts’ cost analysis of the full building lifecycle, ensuring predictable expenditures throughout the term.
The structure of the contract also gives UND the flexibility to continue to grow and update additional spaces in the future.
second large infrastructure contract
This marks the second large infrastructure contract Johnson Controls has secured with UND, as Johnson Controls constructed and now operates the university’s new steam plant. Additionally, as part of the university’s COVID-19 response, Johnson Controls performed over $6M in HVAC updates to the campus in 2020, replacing air handling units and filtration.
To continue these COVID-19 mitigation efforts and promote indoor air quality, all residence halls included in the BaaS project will be equipped with dedicated outside air supply units. Johnson Controls has a presence in over 2,800 higher education institutions in North America.
