LANSING – Oakland University will get $40 million for an engineering center as part of a $103.2 million state allocation for capital improvement projects for five public universities.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm's executive budget recommends building projects at Oakland, Northern Michigan, and Lake Superior State universities, as well as the University of Michigan in Dearborn and Eastern Michigan University.

With those recommendations, all 15 public universities would have received authorization for a capital project over the past two years at total cost to the state of $249.5 million.

Oakland University officials said the state will provide $40 million toward a new $64.4 million engineering center.

The center will have instructional and research facilities supporting automotive, defense and other industries important to the economy of southeast Michigan.

Ted Montgomery, a media relations representative for Oakland, said the university has been requesting the funding for the past five years.

"Oakland did not get capital funding during the last round of state projects," he said. "We are hopeful to receive funding for this building."

At Northern Michigan, officials are preparing to renovate the Cohodas Building.

Cindy Paavola, director of communications at Northern, said the building once housed administrative and student services but now is home to academic departments.

"Since Cohodas is more than 30 years old, most of its mechanical systems need to be overhauled," she said. "Additionally, when we moved the academic departments into this facility, we did very little reconfiguring to accommodate the new occupants, knowing a full renovation was pending."

The total cost of the project is about $16 million, with the state pitching in $11.5 million.

"While $16 million is not an amount to sneeze at, in the scheme of building renovations these days this is less than major," Paavola said. "But it certainly isn't minor in that it will encompass the entire building, and nearly all of its mechanical systems," while displacing a couple departments for at least a year.

In addition, Paavola said a heat- and power-generating plant is a capital project the school hopes to get funding for in the future. It has an estimated cost of $49.8 million. The plant would be able to burn wood chips, natural gas, oil and coal.

Lake Superior State is planning projects at its school of business and economics.

South Hall, which was built around 1920, was home to the university's business and economics school, but closed in 2005 due to its age.

Thomas Pink, a public relations representative at Lake Superior State, said, "While many improvements have been made to the classroom and office building over the years, it has become increasingly difficult to make it suitable to support the technology necessary in classrooms and computer labs."

The recommended $10 million project would help renovate the building, with the state aiding with $7.5 million.

In addition to hoping for state funding, the university is launching a capital campaign to come up with its share of the project.

He said South Hall is the only capital project the university has waiting in the wings.

In addition that state would help the University of Michigan in Dearborn with $4.5 million for a child development center and about $39.5 million to Eastern Michigan for a planned renovation of a building.