Construction gets under way in May

Construction gets under way in May
   
BY B.J. ALMOND
Rice News staff

The week after commencement, faculty and staff can expect to see plenty of bulldozers and hard hats all across campus as summer construction projects get under way.

From a new utility plant, new residential colleges and the Pavilion to an expanded parking lot and partial renovations of buildings, Facilities, Engineering and Planning (FE&P) will be overseeing a series of projects that will ultimately improve the Rice campus for students, faculty and staff. 

Because some of the work will warrant temporary road closures, FE&P scheduled the onset of the projects for the summer months, when students will be off campus and many faculty and staff will be on vacation, to minimize the inconvenience across campus.

Among the first on the list is expansion of the North Annex parking lot adjacent to Dell Butcher Hall. The expansion will add 136 spaces to offset the loss of spaces in the Abercrombie Lot, which will become smaller to accommodate McMurtry College and Rice’s 11th residential college on the northeast campus.  The North Annex Lot expansion should begin May 15 and be completed by late June.

Mid-May is also when crews will start to fence off land on the west side of Fondren Library in preparation of the Pavilion that will be built in the Central Quad.  Construction of the Pavilion should begin in June and be completed by January 2008.

Lovett College will shut down May 14 for removal of asbestos insulation and an upgrade of the plumbing system.  Baker College will also shut down for replacement of the heating and air-conditioning system. Both colleges are expected to reopen in August in time for O Week.

A portion of the second floor of the student center above the Grand Hall will be renovated for the Center for Civic Engagement. The work starts May 14 and should be competed by July 27.

Temporary trailers will be installed at the corner of Alumni Drive and College Way to serve as offices and meeting rooms for the major projects that will be constructed over the next few years. A Construction Welcome Center will be set up in one of the trailers to provide details on the various projects around campus to students, faculty, staff and visitors.

Rice News will report on the South Plant and some of the other major upcoming construction projects in future issues. In the meantime, details about each project can be found at www.facilities.rice.edu under the heading “campus projects.”