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August 27, 2003
Summer construction season hits
an all-time high at BYU-Idaho
REXBURG
- With one of the busiest summer construction seasons in the history of the
university coming to an end, BYU-Idaho will open fall classes with the new Spori Building
and the Austin Building
addition complete. Numerous other projects on campus are progressing with
additional designs and plans in the making.
The
following is a short description of current construction projects taking
place on the BYU-Idaho campus:
Spori
Building: The
44,000 square foot Spori
Building was completed in August
and dedicated by President Thomas S. Monson on Aug. 22. The building houses
the communication and art departments. The building includes a new state of
the art television production studio, a 2,200 square foot art gallery, and expanded
classrooms equipped with teaching stations complete with a VCR, computer and
projector. The front lawn to the north of the Spori
will be restored after its use as a staging area for the future addition to
the nearby Snow Center
for the Performing Arts. The contractor was Layton Construction of Sandy,
Utah.
Austin
Building: The
addition to the Austin Building
is being finished for fall classes. The 10,000 square foot addition is
located on the east side of the existing structure and is being built by
Bateman-Hall of Idaho Falls. The
addition includes two architecture and construction computer labs and a
classroom, an additional mechanical engineering and technology computer lab
and classroom, an additional computer classroom and faculty offices.
Additional remodeling in the existing building includes a new student study
area, a disability ramp, new lighting, new floor coverings and new entry ways
on the east side.
Smith
Building: Layton
Interiors of Sandy, Utah, recently completed renovation work on the second
floor of the Smith Building.
Closed for the duration of the summer, work included heating and air
conditioning systems, ceilings and lighting. This was the final phase of a
project that has taken four years to complete.
Benson
Building: Work
on the Ezra Taft Benson addition is expected to be finished by November and
open for use for the winter semester. The addition, which is located on the
east side of the existing building near the Thomas
E. Ricks Gardens,
includes 25,000 square feet of new classroom and office space and 15,500
square feet of greenhouses. The addition will house four classrooms; four
labs for biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, anatomy and physiology; a
multi-use room for agronomy and horticulture; and 11 faculty offices. The
contractor is Jacobsen Construction of Salt Lake City.
Student Health and Counseling
Center: After
unusual rock conditions caused the foundation design to be redone, the new
Student Health an d Counseling
Center is taking shape with the
frame work and most of concrete work complete. The building should be
enclosed by winter and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2004.
Located just west of the tennis courts on Second East, the 22,500 square
foot, two-story building will nearly double the space for health and
counseling services for students. The present health center is located in the
Clarke Building
and the counseling center is in the Kimball Student and Administrative
Services Building.
Double E Construction of Ririe is the general
contractor.
Family Housing: Work
continues on the family and married student housing project located at the
southeast corner of Seventh South and First West on the south side of campus.
Projections call for five buildings to be completed by the beginning of the
winter semester, and the remaining buildings to be open to students for the
fall semester of 2004. Bateman-Hall is the contractor for the ten acre
project which will include 156 two and three bedroom units in 16 buildings.
Thomas
E. Ricks
Building: The foundation
has been poured and the walls are coming up on the new classroom building
located southwest of the Hinckley Building
and south of the floral demonstration gardens. The building is being
constructed by Jacobsen Construction of Salt Lake City and is on schedule to
be finished by late fall of 2004. The 56,200 square foot building will
include 23 classrooms, 58 offices, four secretarial reception areas and an
animal science laboratory. Designed by FFKR Architects of Salt Lake City, it
will house the department of mathematics; department of history, geography
and political science; department of psychology; and department of sociology
and social work.
Floral
Demonstration Gardens:
The Thomas E.
Ricks Gardens
will become a focal point of campus with their location forming a new quad
between several major classroom buildings. After construction, the area will
have new sidewalks, lighting, sprinkler systems and redesigned flower beds.
Electrical Substation:
The concrete work is nearing completion and equipment is on the way for the
university’s private substation located southwest of the arboretum. The
new substation will help to reduce the university’s power rate. The
contractor is Caribou Construction of Jerome and work is expected to be done
by December.
New Church
Building: Work
on the new church building to be located at the northeast corner of Seventh
South and Center Street
will begin in October, and is expected to be completed in August of 2004. The
building, which is intended to house eight married student wards, will be
constructed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The 26,000
square foot, brick building will house two chapels, a gym, two kitchens,
stake offices, and offices for eight bishops.
Art Annex: With the
completion of the Spori
Building, the Art
Department has moved from its
present location in a storefront on Main Street,
and will be occupied by the Alumni Office and Annual Giving.
Steam and condensate lines:
Steam and condensate lines running from the Hart
Building to the McKay Library
will be completed by the beginning of the fall semester. Another line running
west of the Taylor Quad to the heat plant is slated to be completed in
September. The portion crossing Center Street
is expected to be replaced and the road resurfaced by the beginning of fall
semester.
Future Projects: Building programs are also currently being written for the Snow Center for the Performing Arts, Hart Building and the Manwaring Center. Plans call for significant additions and remolding
to the existing buildings with design work beginning in October. The Kirkham Building has been slated to come down except for the portion
of the building that houses the ceramics area. The building will remain open
until all other major projects on campus are completed. What will be done
with the ground after demolition has yet to be determined. Organ pipes in the
Barrus Concert Hall of the Snow Center for the Performing
Arts will also be upgraded next summer.
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