SPEARFISH - Black Hills State University officials are proposing a slimmed-down version of its original plans for a new science and research building on campus.

The project is part of a larger state-funded program to rehabilitate its university science facilities. BHSU was allotted $8 million, to include a base bid plus contingencies.

The base bid for the building came in at $8.2 million. Plans are to re-bid the project with a reduced amount of floor space and elimination of three offices within the building. The building would be placed just west of the existing Jonas Academic Hall on campus.

The redesign is scheduled for completion on Aug. 19, with new bid packages available for contractors on Aug. 20. Bids would be received on Sept. 17, with a scheduled groundbreaking in mid- to late-October. The new building would be completed in December 2010.

BHSU president Kay Schallenkamp said the revised game plan depends on the new bids coming in within the estimates from design engineers.

According to information presented to the South Dakota Board of Regents Thursday at a regular meeting in Spearfish, a variety of reasons were cited for the high bid. Among them are an additional $200,000 for environmentally-friendly building materials, inflated masonry costs, and higher-than-expected price tags for an elevator, emergency generator system and the transportation of specialty equipment to western South Dakota.