2008 Woodie Awards
Projects pop up around campus
By: Ben Burg
Issue date: 8/27/08 Section: News
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Some of the major projects are the Student Services Center, the Wildcat Recreation Center, Sutter Hall and the planned reconstruction of Taylor Hall. The total cost for the present and near future projects is about $177 million, said Kaari Martin, capital projects and planning specialist.
The most noticeable construction is the four-story, 120,000-square-foot Student Services Center that has a more modern style than many of the campus' classic brick buildings.
President Paul Zingg he hopes the new buildings will make the campus more attractive to students, he said in an e-mail.
The Student Services Center fits right in with the campus, said senior Kyla Adams, a health education major.
"In all honesty, I think it blends in very well with the older buildings," she said.
The lobby is a wide-open room with large windows on all sides, flatscreen TVs and light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. Though most facilities are up and running, such as Academic Advising, Admissions and the Financial Aid and Scholarship offices, there are some final touches being made to the building.
Most of the departments that transferred to the Student Services Center are available for students, Martin said.
"We are trying to figure out the final kinks and get our feet on the ground," she said.
Scheduled to finish in spring, the Wildcat Recreation Center has many features including a 15,000-square-foot fitness facility, a climbing wall, an indoor track, four multipurpose rooms and a 10-lane pool.
As sustainability has become a large part of the college, new projects will be built with green-friendly features, Zingg said.
"With all of our campus design, a main goal is to achieve harmony between our natural and built environments," Zingg said. "I think these projects accomplish that."
The new dorm, Sutter Hall, is step one of a long-term housing construction goal. Steps two and three respectively would first be the construction of new student housing in the area between Warner Street and Nettleton Stadium, and the second phase is the reconstruction of Whitney Hall.
Dates and costs of the second and third phases are still in the planning process, according to the Facilities Planning Web site.
Ben Burg can be reached at
bburg@theorion.com
Related links
Construction on Chico State campus
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