A crash course in USU’s construction plans

At the start of the fall 2023 semester, towering cranes and bright orange cones have decorated the sidewalks, streets and fields of Utah State University’s campus. Here’s what USU is building, how long it will take and what the construction will bring to campus.

One of the larger construction projects underway is the South Campus redevelopment. It will feature a new Huntsman Business Institute building, a parking terrace and a new USU student housing dorm in the area east of the current Huntsman Institute building, according to Emilie Wheeler, news director for university Marketing & Communications.

The Kem and Carolyn Gardner Learning and Leadership Building, built in honor of the Gardner family, will start construction in October 2023 and is estimated to finish in April 2025, Wheeler said. The building, will house the Huntsman’s experiential learning programs, as well as several working areas for students to do homework or remote internships.

The new parking terrace will also begin construction within the next several months and will likely be completed by August 2025.

“What people see right now as they’re walking by is they’ve demolished the old housing buildings,” Wheeler said, adding that despite Greaves, Moen and Reeder Halls being gone, the parking terrace and utility tunnels being built in place of the dorms will benefit the students and employees in that area.

But for MJ Wayment, a USU junior studying dietetics, the construction has been less than ideal for her and her brother — especially as both were planning on living in Greaves Hall before it was torn down. Wayment said she felt there wasn’t enough time for either of them to find housing for the next year.

“There’s already not enough housing in Logan and on campus,” Wayment said. “They got rid of several hundreds of students’ living accommodations when there already wasn’t enough … there’s already a huge issue with housing in Logan, and they’ve just made it worse.”

Asher Schroader, a first-year student with an exploratory major, said the construction on the dorms also disrupted some of his life during the summer.

“I was actually in Merrill Hall this summer, and so I was there when they tore down Greaves Hall and Moen and Reeder, and that was what woke me up every single morning,” Schroader said. “I can imagine that the students in South Campus are not having a great time right now.”

Wheeler noted USU plans to build a new housing complex, unnamed as of now, next to the new business building and parking terrace.

And despite some of the drawbacks to making room for the South Campus redevelopment project, Schroader said the new buildings will add beauty and modernity to the campus.

“I think that the additions to campus are going to be really nice because, I am slightly biased, but I do think that the newer buildings are definitely nicer. They’re more spacious, they’re more comfortable, the materials are safer,” Schroader said. “In terms of mobility and being able to get where I need to go, it’s been mostly painless.”

Wayment added that although construction is “pretty annoying,” and that it can “impact students’ abilities to get to class on time,” it’s necessary for the campus’s upkeep.

“Coming from a perspective of someone who has worked in the construction and development industry — I worked as like an engineering intern for a sewer sistrict — I also understand the need for construction and upkeep and maintenance,” Wayment said.

And new additions aren’t just affecting the Huntsman Business School; the College of Humanities and Social Sciences will work on building the Mehdi Heravi Global Teaching and Learning Center until August 2024, which is undergoing construction on Champ Drive. The building will not just provide new language learning programs, but it will provide remote internship opportunities for students, Wheeler said.  

“It’s going to bring all the language programs together under one roof, and that’s really a new thing. It’s not just teaching languages, but it’s teaching a lot of things about culture and languages, and how those pertain to you know, getting a degree and using that degree in life,” Wheeler said.  

The 40,000 square foot building will anticipate to cost about $23 million, paid through both private donations and also some state funding, Wheeler added. 

“This building is the legacy of many, many people,” said Mehdi Heravi, USU alumnus, philanthropist and namesake of the building in a statement. “My hope is for this to become a building of opportunity for students to learn other languages, learn other cultures and become promoters of peace.” 

However, Schroader expressed that despite the benefits the language building will bring, he was frustrated that the construction with Champ Drive was not finished by the end of August. Wheeler noted that the closed portions of Champ Drive road “will be paved this week or this weekend.”   

South Campus’ additional buildings and the new language center won’t be the only new additions to the campus, Wheeler noted — in spring of 2024, construction would start on a 109,000 square foot College of Veterinary Medicine building on 1400 N. 1200 E. 

After the Utah State Legislature’s new appropriation of $18 million in annual funding to start the first College of Veterinary Medicine in the state, USU is planning on opening the college along with the building.  

Wheeler added that another, smaller construction project will also replace Old Main’s steps, as the historic building itself had steps that were falling apart.  

All the construction projects happening within the next few years are “a reflection of a lot of things coming together at the same time,” Wheeler said. “I think it’s also a reflection of a growing university.”