By Dar Danielson (Radio Iowa)

The state Board of Regents approved an increase in the budget to replace windows at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.

UI Vice President Rod Lehnertz says nearly all of the windows have been replaced after delamination and cracking developed that presented potential safety hazards. .
“We have been prudent in replacing the windows that need to be for safety and operation purposes, but also tried to continue to monitor window systems to make sure we weren’t replacing those that didn’t need to be,” Lehnertz says.

He asked the Regents Thursday to approve adding eight more sections of windows to the project. “In this case, this revised budget moves from the original $45 million to $52.5 million, which, as the description in the docket information, indicates the vertical slot windows that go nine stories and connecting all the floors would be added to this, effectively replacing all the windows except for those that are on the ground floor,” he says.

The hospital was completed in 2017 and the building has gained national notoriety from “The Wave” where everyone in nearby Kinnick Stadium waves to patients in the hospital after the first quarter of home football games.