Community Center taking shape
After years of planning, a housing idea is taking shape.
Construction workers are now sheet rocking the new two-story Community Center which will be part of the Living Learning Community facility.
A recently completed parking garage has also taken shape replacing the old steam plant.
“The schedule has slipped somewhat, but they’re working to accelerate it,” said John Fitch, project coordinator.
He is looking at the completion date rather than the individual project deadlines – some of which have already passed.
The original schedule called for the first levels of the parking structure to open at the beginning of fall semester. However, unexpected struggles with shoring – building soil up – caused construction delays. Now the parking garage will open with the housing complex in fall 2006.
“It’s a $40 million project that has to come in on time,” Fitch said.
Eventually the Community Center and five four-story residence halls, housing views of Logan and Utah State University, will sit on a landscaped plaza.
“They’re going to be looking out over the top of the trees,” Fitch said. “It’s like a penthouse.”
The Community Center will be the first building to open. It will be the gathering place for the residents, as well as a preview for recruitment to the university and the complex.
The main floor of the center is typical for residence hall life – offices, mail room, a multi-purpose room and a lounge. The second floor is the preview floor, showing off what one of the four- story buildings will look like, with four suites, 32 beds, a lounge and a kitchen.
Though there is no grand opening date yet, Fitch expects the landscaping completion in October and the interior to follow soon after.
The complex has already become a major recruitment tool for USU and with the center’s completion, housing directors expect interest to skyrocket.
The upscale design is meant to be comfortable and draw residents out of their rooms so they can make friends and have an easy transition to university life.
Students will live with those that share their same interests and majors.
The design also targets studying and eliminates sharing a kitchen.
“Taking the kitchen out of the picture eliminates roommate conflicts that we don’t have to deal with,” said Whitney Milligan, assistant director for residence life.
Students will eat at the Carousel Square in the student center instead.
The eatery’s kitchen was remodeled this summer and the dining room will undergo a significant transformation for the next fall as well.
Carousel Square is one of the ways that all students, residents of the complex or not, will be affected by the new halls.
The parking garage’s 600 stalls and two large elevators will help pedestrians and bikers from having to climb Old Main Hill.
Because of the increased amount of pedestrians, Champ Drive will remain closed permanently. A roundabout next to the Alumni House was opened Monday to accommodate drop-off traffic.
The red bricks and mortar coming together are a result of over five years of planning and research. Student input was valued on the project in order to understand what living situations will help students succeed. Double and private rooms are mixed together to add a diverse socioeconomic status. Four students share a bathroom. Every student has cable television, 12 electrical outlets, wireless Internet and data ports. It comes out to be high-tech housing.
“We’ve overbuilt intentionally,” said Steve Jenson, director of Housing and Dining Services. “One of the things we’ve found is that if we build it for today, two years from now, we’ll be sorry.”
natandrews@cc.usu.edu