Houstonian: Plans set for facility additions

From the Houstonian:

Two SHSU departments are planning to add new sections to their buildings beginning in 2003 and 2004.

The College of Business Administration is planning to create a new addition to the Smith-Hutson Business Building that will roughly double its existing workspace.

R. Dean Lewis, dean of the College of Business Administration, said the construction would extend to the parking lot south of the building, and create new faculty offices and classroom space. A new auditorium that will hold 158 people will also be added next to the existing Ronald P. Mafrige Auditorium.

"We have faculty in three buildings; we have classrooms in two," Lewis said. "We're out of space; that's why we're getting the additions."

The Smith-Hutson Building currently has 45,000 square feet of workspace, but the construction will add an additional 42,000 square feet. The project will cost approximately $38.5 million, and should begin next year.

"It's expected to start by January of '04," Lewis said. "We should be in the building by fall '05."

The College of Business Administration originally planned to renovate the existing building, but after consulting the projected growth estimates for the college, decided new space was needed.

Also scheduled for renovation is the Teacher Education Center, which will have a new wing added to help accommodate facilities for a new doctorate program in counseling education now offered by SHSU.

The funds for the project came from a fund designated for construction purposes. [Dean of the College of Education and Applied Science Genevieve]Brown said the project is still in a bid process, but that construction will probably begin in late spring and the new facility won't be operable before spring 2004.

The new extension will head out towards Johnson Coliseum. Brown said the college's new wing would help expand the amount of clinical help the college provides to the Huntsville community.