The Board of Regents unanimously approved policy Thursday to renovate Peters and Jackson halls this year.
The renovations are key to finishing the $70 million Molecular and Cellular Biology Building for which the University received funding from the state Legislature in April.
Built in 1913, Jackson Hall was the original main building for the University’s Medical School.
During renovation, two-thirds of Jackson Hall will be vacant. Only lab animals and those working in mortuary science in the basement will remain.
The renovation of Jackson Hall begins in November and should be completed by May 1999. Workers will demolish most inside walls and replace mechanical and electrical systems.
On the St. Paul campus, the Peters Hall renovation will begin March 1999 with plans to be completed by December 1999. The School of Social Work will move to Peters Hall when the work is finished.
All existing windows will be replaced in both halls.
Eric Kruse, associate vice president for Facilities Management, and regents discussed construction of the South Mall Project, where a new parking ramp and housing facility will be built on the University’s East Bank near the Mississippi River.

— Jeremy Taff