Work is beginning on a nearly $50 million renovation of one of Bowling Green State University’s original buildings, which will house a growing College of Business Administration.

Hanna Hall will be renamed the Robert W. and Patricia A. Maurer Center after the couple donated $5 million toward the renovations. Where the building’s current occupants will be moved is not yet known, said Dave Kielmeyer, a university spokesman.

Mr. Maurer is a partner in the Maurer, Newlove, & Bakies law firm and is a BGSU graduate. Mrs. Maurer also attended the university.

“We don’t consider this a gift,” Mr. Maurer said. “This is more of an investment.”

Last week, the BGSU Board of Trustees approved $5.7 million to pay for the project’s design and preconstruction costs. The board also approved relocation of a fiber optic duct bank the university says must be moved before renovations start.

The renovations will include constructing an addition on the building’s Wooster Street side. A first-floor building arcade will be developed. The east side of the building’s exterior will look more contemporary, according to the university, while the west side will remain traditional. The interior will be extensively renovated.

The addition will more than double Hanna Hall’s size, said Mr. Kielmeyer, from its current 30,000 square feet to about 75,000 square feet.

“We would like a year from now for Hanna Hall [renovations] to start,” said Sheri Stoll, the university’s chief financial officer.

Other major donations for the project included: $2 million from Paul and Margo Hooker; $2 million from Peggy Schmeltz; and $1 million from Michael and Mary Lee McGranaghan. University trustees and BGSU Foundation Board members also donated $800,000 to the project.

BGSU officials expect the project will be completed in the summer of 2020.

Contact Nolan Rosenkrans at: nrosenkrans@theblade.com or 419-724-6086, or on Twitter @NolanRosenkrans.

First Published February 24, 2017, 5:00 a.m.