Construction Updates

Thursday's Houstonian [November 1, 2007] notes the impending completion of the expanded Mall area, on the former Frels-Wilson buildings.

Also, the SHSU Physical Plant page has been updated (though you wouldn't get that from the top of the page where it still says "April 2007") to include current (or mildly recent) photographs of construction:

• Academic Building V ("Substantial Completion Date: September 2008")
• Mall area ("Substantial Completion Date: October 2007")
• Design of the forthcoming Performing Arts Center ("Substantial Completion Date: December 2009")
• Plans for the new Agriculture Complex at Gibbs ranch
• North dining facility ("Substantial Completion Date: December 2008")

Finally, one can view a few pictures of the Colony Apartments in an early stage of demolition. Also, the contents of the Telephone Services building (that unsightly holdover from the Frels-Wilson demolition) appear to be on the move to Academic Building One...? (I thought it was AB5?)

Item: $30M project heads SHSU construction

Rachael Gleason reports in the June 2 edition of the Item of some of the upcoming changes to the campus. Some of the highlights:

• The renovation of the mall area started December 2006 with the demolition of the Wilson-Frels complex. Construction in the area began May 2007. The projected completion date of the $2 million mall area renovation is September of this year.“We hoped that we would finish before school started, but we had a late start due to rain,” [Physical Plant Assistant Director John] McCrosky said.
• He [McCrosky] also said the school is in the planning stage for a $35 million performing arts center for the music, dance and theater programs as well as a new $7.5 million dining facility.
• A 300-space parking lot is also in store for the campus.
• Construction on Academic Building V, which will be one of the largest buildings on campus, started several weeks ago with the prep work for the building’s foundation on land east of the Lee Drain Building. The Board of Regents have yet to choose a name for the new building, but McCrosky said the name will likely be called the humanities & social sciences building. The expected date of completion for Academic Building V is September 2008. According to McCrosky, the building will likely be open for classes in Spring 2009.
• In addition to the construction projects that are already under way, SHSU plans to revise a 10-year master plan for future undertakings.
  

A New Year, A New View

Today@Sam: Not much was left of the Wilson and Frels Apartments late Wednesday as their removal continued. Construction is expected to begin soon on a mall/commons expansion and consolidation project (photo credit: shsu).

Farewell to Frels, Wilson

Today@Sam: Work is well under way toward removal of the Wilson and Frels dorms from the center of the SHSU campus. On Monday a piece of heavy machinery sorted through what was left of Wilson. Frels is scheduled for the same fate in the next few days.

Mall Extension Center of Attention

Tuesday's Houstonian discusses the mall expansion being planned once the Frels and Wilson Buildings are demolished:

State of the University Address

News from University President James Gaertner at the annual State of University address focused on future construction projects and a possible university name change:

"There is a chance in this next legislative session that there will be an effort to reconfigure the university systems in the state," Gaertner said. "If a reorganization takes place, the issue of the names of the schools in those systems would be in question, and there is a possibility that we would be called upon to change our name to, probably, Texas State University-Sam Houston."

Among the construction projects the university will be facing in the near future is a new Mall Area that will require the removal of the Wilson and Frels buildings, scheduled to begin sometime around December; a 143,000 square feet Academic Building V that will house the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, as well as some business offices, in the parking lot behind the Smith-Hutson Building and is expected to begin in March; surface parking; and a Performing Arts Center that will be in the parking lot south of the Criminal Justice Center.

Two Parking Lots Short

Construction projects – some confirmed and others in the planning stages – will eliminate a number of prominent parking spaces over the next school year, as explained in this Houstonian article (Aug. 24):

The faculty parking lot in between the Frels-Wilson complex will be removed along with the buildings to allow for the expansion of the new student mall area. According to [Director of Public Relations, Frank] Krystyniak, this parking lot will be the first to be replaced and will be unavailable by the end of November.

The lot north of the Vick House is to be replaced by Academic Building V...the schedule for construction has not been started yet, but Krystyniak said the lot will not be available for use in late spring.

Another parking lot may be lost due to a new Performing Arts Center... if the building is approved, Krystyniak said that construction would probably start in the fall of 2007 and a parking lot will be lost to the project.

Even though the university may lose the lots this year, Physical Plant Director John McCrosky said that more parking lot locations are discussed when buildings replace them. "We try to plan for things," said McCrosky, "We always try to come up with space for additional parking lots."

April 2006 Regents Report

Today@Sam reports that the Texas State University System Board of Regents approved the construction of a $30 million Academic Building V and a $2 million expansion to the present Campus Mall that requires removal of the Frels-Wilson complex.

SHSU President James Gaertner told the regents that the new academic building will house the College of Humanities and Social Sciences offices and classrooms in 143,301 square feet of space. Also housed there will be additional faculty offices, the post office, accounts payable, purchasing, the business office and human resources. It is currently planned for the area south of the Smith-Hutson addition and east of the Lee Drain Building.

Gaertner said that the 80,000 square feet expansion of the mall south of the Lowman Student Center "will give our expanding student population a spacious area to gather for relaxing and socializing, and to conduct student activities and events."

Also approved were preliminary plans for a $980,000 recreational area to be known as Bearkat Camp, on 345 acres of land adjacent to the Trinity River that was deeded to SHSU in 2002 by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The recreational area for students, faculty and staff will include a covered pavilion, campsites, fishing, canoeing, nature trails, and rest rooms.

President's Update

A few odds and ends from SHSU President Jim Gaertner:

The regents have already given us the approval to remove the Frels and Wilson complex, which is being used for offices, and the Smith-Kirkley residence hall. When we decide to do so, it will be the first step in a series of moves that will give us additional office and classroom space.

The Frels-Wilson removal will allow us to expand and consolidate the present mall/commons area, which will greatly add to the beauty of our already-magnificent campus.

A key element in that series of steps will be construction of an estimated $30 million Academic Building V. It is currently planned for the area south of the Smith-Hutson addition and east of the Lee Drain Building.

While the timelines for these projects have not been set, we hope to have sufficient planning completed to present the ABV project for board approval at their May board meeting, and to proceed with first approval for a new dining facility in August or November.

In our somewhat more distant facility plans are projects that will be of great benefit to our academic capability.

We are continuing to work toward a new performing arts building to provide space and facilities for music, theater, and dance. These programs have been attracting national attention and credit, and as a result are of interest to a growing number of area, state, and national students.

This facility will include classrooms, practice rooms, and recital and concert halls. The discussions of what we would like in such a facility, and what we can realistically afford, are continuing.

Another project that we are planning will be an expansion of the Criminal Justice Center, which was built by inmate labor some 30 years ago at a bargain price to the state and nation, but which is now operating at full capacity.

The Criminal Justice program has brought more national and international attention to Sam Houston State University in its relatively short period of existence than any other on our campus. We are committed to maintaining its reputation for service and preeminence in its field, and having a quality facility is a key to that goal.

Houstonian: The problems of progress

If you have been late for class, had a hard time finding a parking space and trying to figure out where your organization meets, you are part of the student population experiencing the renovation effects of the Lowman Student Center.

Some students complain of the inconveniences, despite approving the renovations by an online vote in April of 1999 and therefore agreeing to a $40 increase in the student services fee.

Although construction began in early December, some students are just now beginning to experience the effects of the renovations.

All offices that were housed in the LSC are in the Frels and Wilson Buildings, which are across the mall area and face the LSC.