New condominiums on the former Marymount College campus in Salina will go underground for heating and cooling.

The building is being converted to condominiums, called Marymount Properties. Architect Donnie Mars says developers turned to geothermal heat in part because of high prices in Japan for roof-mounted air conditioning systems.

Now, workers are drilling 52 300-foot deep, 8-inch diameter shafts into the ground. Then a loop of 1.5-inch pipe is put into the hole, which is filled with a grout mixture. All 52 wells will be hooked together, and water/glycol will circulate through a heat pump in each residence and then back into the ground.

The Salina Journal reports Marrs expects the extra upfront cost to be paid back in about three years.

Marymount closed in June 1989.