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August 25, 2006 > News > Massive campus construction to begin spring semester

Massive campus construction to begin spring semester

By Sarah Baker | Thresher Editorial Staff

The sounds of bulldozers will ring in students’ ears beginning in 2007 when construction begins on two new colleges, a Central Quad pavilion and a shared servery for Lovett College and Will Rice College. The Board of Trustees approved these buildings at its May meeting.

University Architect David Rodd said the construction of a pavilion attached to the west side of Fondren Library will begin in 2007 and should be finished by the end of the calendar year. The pavilion will feature a coffee shop run by an outside company, Housing and Dining Director Mark Ditman said. The coffee shop will have limited food service and is expected to be 6,000 square feet. The project will also extend Fondren’s covered walkway around the entire building.

The pavilion, which is scheduled to be finished by the end of next year, is the key feature in a plan to renovate the Central Quad to promote activity in the area. Landscaping is the only other change planned for the Central Quad, although other yet-to-be-determined buildings will be renovated or constructed in the future, Rodd said.

Rodd and Facilities, Engineering and Planning are searching for an architect to design the new colleges. The Board of Trustees will make the final decision,. Construction on the $140-million project is expected to start next summer or fall and finish by July or August 2009, Rodd said.

Rodd said further renovation and possible destruction of South College buildings to accommodate growth is also being discussed. However, the Board of Trustees has not yet approved any plans.

“We’re looking at all the colleges for opportunities … to either replace some of the buildings or add onto them,” Rodd said.

Rodd said the old wings of Baker, Will Rice and Hanszen Colleges will remain intact. Additions to Lovett College and Sid Richardson College would be considered rather than demolition, Rodd said.

Rodd said Lovett and Will Rice Colleges’ shared servery will be built in the loading dock area between the colleges and that both commons will remain intact.

“The thought was that if we take the space that those facilities are in now and renovate them and then add onto them, we can provide a combined kitchen or servery, much like you have over at [Hanszen/Wiess] servery or North Servery,” Rodd said.

No start date for the construction has been set, and the project is expected to cost $23 million, Rodd said.

The university began a parking study over the summer in an effort to examine how to accommodate construction projects and the growth of the undergraduate population, Rodd said. Gerald Salzman of Desman Associates/Chicago is the consultant for the study, which should be finished in September. Salzman has been analyzing parking data and gathering opinions from the members of the University Standing Committee on Parking.

Rodd said construction on the Collaborative Research Center — located at the corner of University Boulevard and Main Street — will begin in the fall, possibly in October. Researchers from Rice and the Texas Medical Center will share the center.

The $200-million project is expected to be completed in December 2008, Rodd said.

Summer Construction

Assistant Vice President of Project Management and Engineering Doug Tomlinson said rain caused some delays in summer construction projects, but most projects were completed without problems.

The largest construction project of the summer was the replacement of the sewer system beneath College Way between Herring Hall and Sewell Hall. College Way — part of the Inner Loop — was closed for most of the summer, and Laboratory Road — the other side of the Inner Loop — functioned as a two-way road. Major construction was completed Aug. 18, allowing College Way to reopen. Additional work on the sewer system will continue into September, Tomlinson said.

The construction of greenhouses between Dell Butcher Hall and the Anderson Biology Building is scheduled to finish Aug. 31.

Tomlinson said renovation of the third floor of the Anderson Biology Building throughout the fall semester will cause some closures of walkways. The changes will turn the floor into laboratory space, and an exterior walkway is being converted into an interior one.

Tomlinson said the conversion of the sixth floor of Fondren Library to a study area will be finished in October.

A $2-million project installed new four-pipe air conditioners and restored some of the original hardwood floors in Hanszen College’s Old Section rooms, Ditman said.

Ditman said Lovett College received double-fixture fluorescent lights and new shower heads and valves. The central section of Jones College received new bathroom sinks, faucets and air conditioning modifications to improve air quality.

Tomlinson said the conversion of the basement and parts of the first floor of the Ryon Engineering Building to dry lab space will last more than a year.

Tomlinson said upcoming projects include the conversion to dry lab space in the Mechanical Engineering Building beginning after Jan. 1. Improvements to the visitors center at Lovett Hall, such as carpet replacement and painting, will begin in September.

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