As the University gears up for one of the largest bursts of construction in its history, a number of projects will begin taking shape this summer.
After completing preparations this semester, construction on many projects will begin shortly after graduation, said Executive Vice President Tallman Trask.
Construction on the new parking garage and the engineering plaza will begin in May with construction on both the Nasher Museum of Art and the Goodson Chapel, a Divinity School project, beginning shortly thereafter, Trask said.
"I've been here 17 years and [this is the most construction] since I've been here, in one given time," said Raymond Wrenn, assistant director for construction services.
Although the garage's exact location has yet to be determined, Trask said it will be located between the Bryan Center and Science Drive. Administrators hope the current Bryan Center parking lot will remain intact. The garage, which will have internal circulation unlike the spiral ramps found at many airport garages, will have 350 spaces. Wrenn expects the project to be completed in August 2003.
When administrators decided to build the parking garage they coupled the proposal with a new office building, where the bookstore and other commercial enterprises now located in the Bryan Center could relocate. Some West Union Building offices--including The Chronicle and Auxiliary Services--may also move into the new building.
The $20 million facility, approved by the Board of Trustees in October, will free up 25,000 square feet of space in the Bryan Center, giving the Bryan Center room to become more student-oriented.
Originally, the new building was to be located beside the garage, but Trask said it may be built closer to the center of campus. Two proposals under consideration are creating a C-shaped addition to the Bryan Center or putting it in the Union Drive courtyard, which may interfere with the Bryan Center Walkway. However, Trask cautioned that these are just proposals and that nothing has been finalized.
"I'd regard it as a major, permanent accomplishment if I could get rid of the bridge to the Bryan Center," Trask said. "It's one of the most inappropriate structures I've ever seen anywhere."
The Center for Interdisciplinary Engineering and Applied Sciences will be formally approved by the Board of Trustees in February, after the School of Medicine joined the project last semester. The center is expected to cost $98 million and will be completed by Sept. 2003. Because of its proximity to the site of the Divinity School addition, Beacon-Beers Construction will build both.
Numerous other projects will also be completed this year, including the new outdoor tennis stadium in February, Wrenn said. In addition, the Yoh Football Center and the West-Edens Link will be finished in July, the Fox Student Center, an addition to the Fuqua School of Business, in August and the Center for Human Genetics, located on Research Drive, in October.
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