UPDATE: Campus overhaul moves forward
By Staci Reafsnyder
Sports Editor
Renovations to Schwitzer Student Center and its surrounding areas on the University of Indianapolis campus are underway with the approach of the 2008 spring semester.
Schwitzer will be expanded, and the building’s first floor will be completely renovated; Campus Drive will be re-routed directly from Hanna Avenue to National Avenue and a recreation area, featuring new volleyball and basketball courts and walkways, will replace the recreational facilities that currently sit between Schwitzer and Ruth Lilly Fitness Center.
Renovations to Krannert Memorial Library are still being discussed, but final plans have not been made, said Mary Atteberry, executive director of communications and marketing.
“We had the consultants on campus, and they helped take some input [for the library],” Atteberry said. “They are just looking at that input now and trying to create a plan for renovation.”
According to University of Indianapolis President Beverley Pitts, the changes to the library will occur over a two- or three-year period. The library is being renovated to make it more useful for students, but an expansion of the building will not take place, Pitts said.
According to Atteberry, a ground breaking ceremony for the new wing of Schwitzer Student Center will be held the week of Jan. 14.
Atteberry said that the indoor renovations to Schwitzer will not begin until the end of the 2008 spring semester. Some of the renovations include a combined grill and coffee shop in the place that is currently The Perk, a 75- to 100-person seating area in the atrium, a pizzeria in the place that is currently Streets Corner, a new entrance on the south side of the dining hall (which also increases the seating size from 400 to 500) and a new student lounge in place of the President’s and Trustee’s dining halls.
The Center’s expansion will add an additional 48,000 square feet among the three floors of the building. New President’s and Trustee’s dining halls and a dining hall designated for special events will be included in the new wing. The new special events dining hall will have sub-dividers that will allow the room to be adaptable to groups of various sizes, Atteberry said.
The expansion is scheduled for completion on Nov. 1, 2008.
