Four major campus construction projects costing more than $60 million combined are scheduled to be completed by the end of Summer and will be operational during the Fall Semester.
Although temperate weather and an empty campus makes summer a prime time for construction at Ball State University, Jim Lowe, director of engineering and operations at Ball State, said this summer is particularly eventful.
"I don't recall a time when we had three major projects of this magnitude under construction at the same time," he said, referring to the Park Hall, Communication and Media Building and Scheumann Stadium projects. "And they're all coming to completion at the same time."
The new Woodworth Complex Dining Hall is also set to open in the fall, and less expensive projects such as new tennis courts and new technology in the School of Nursing are slated for summer completion.
Kevin Kenyon, associate vice president for Facilities, Planning and Management, said a combination of factors, including availability of funds and need for renovations, contributed to the high number of projects underway.
As is the case with the Scheumann Stadium renovations, some of the construction projects had been in the planning stages but could not be started until appropriate funding became available. The stadium project began at the end of the 2006 football season after Ball State surpassed its $12 million fund-raising campaign goal. Money for project came from more than 700 benefactors, including alumni and local businesses. The $13.7 million project includes the installation of new press boxes and a n artificial turf playing surface and the enclosure of the north end of the stadium.
Funding for the Communication and Media building, which connects the Ball Communication Building and the Robert Bell Building, became available in 2005 when the Indiana General Assembly approved a $16 million state appropriation for the project. The building will provide necessary resources for the expansion of the College of Communication, Information and Media, which has outgrown its current facilities, Kenyon said. The lecture halls and faculty offices will be more conducive to student-teacher interaction than current facilities, and the building will have open public space, which will create a sense of community among CCIM students, he said.
Ball State's 2007 Strategic Plan, which calls for the university to become "one of the most innovative and attention-worthy undergraduate-focused institutions nationwide," according to the plan, also provided impetus for the projects, Kenyon said.
"We're a dynamic university, and we're trying to do a lot of things to increase quality of life and quality of education on campus," he said. "Maybe it's a bit of a coincidence, but I think [the construction] is part of an intensive effort to improve campus."
Improvements to campus life for students living in residence halls is also a key part of the projects.
Woodworth Dining, which was closed during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 academic years, will reopen when students return to the residence hall in August. The dining area will offer a Mongolian grill, a French-style pastry shop and an outdoor dining area. Much of the congestion at Noyer and the Atrium dining halls will be cleared when the $3.7 Woodworth Dining area reopens, Kenyon said.
The dining hall will also give a new eating option for residents of Park Hall. The $27.5 million residence hall, which opens for the first time in August, will include suite-style rooms with adjoining bathrooms, will house about 500 students.
Following the completion of current projects, Ball State will continue to make efforts to improve and expand campus. A new recreation center is in the designing process, and renovations to the Office of Facilities, Planning and Management is planning renovations to L.A. Pittenger Student Center. The university is also clearing land north of Neely Avenue to make way for North Hall, a dorm that will house about 600 students and is scheduled to open in 2010.
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