The initial phase of a multimillion-dollar expansion of University Centers will wrap up in the next few weeks, following another delay because of unexpected rain, according to University Centers Advisory Board Chair Jared Feldman.
Construction workers put finishing touches on the final stage of phase one of the University Centers expansion. Completion is slated for sometime in the next few weeks.
A grand opening was planned for the first phase, but the university has decided to delay an official opening until the whole project is finished. The center was originally slated for a fall opening.
The complex, however, will have separate openings of the Women’s Center and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center, Feldman said.
After the initial delay, the first stage, which includes the construction of an extension to the Student Center, was slated to be ready for student use by the beginning of winter quarter, University Centers Director and acting Vice Chancellor of Student Life Gary R. Ratcliff said in October. However, unexpected rain last year and over the break slowed construction, Feldman said. When Student Center does open, it will include more than 13,000 square feet of space housing dining, seating and lounge space as well as Royal Thai, a restaurant that has just signed the university’s lease agreement, Feldman said.
“We want this to be a hub of activity,” he said. “This is going to be a huge departure from what people knew as the Student Center.”
Construction on the new Student Center building broke ground last fall, and is funded jointly by reserves from the University Center’s budget and the chancellor’s office.
The next phase of the expansion, which is scheduled to begin spring 2007, will remodel the old Student Center complex to the design motif of the new building. A $39 quarterly referendum fee approved by students in 2003 will pay for the second phase.
“It’s going to be a cosmetic facelift,” Feldman said. “But the bigger changes we want is making it gravitate toward this area.”
The university will demolish the North Conference Room in Student Center to make way for a plaza. Once complete, the expansion would create a 24-hour study lounge with a computer lab and commuter student resources.
