Ball State University is right on schedule with several major construction projects, the associate vice president of facilities planning and management said.
"Everything seems to be fine," Kevin Kenyon said. "It doesn't seem to be disrupting life on campus too much."
Construction and planning are moving forward gradually for Ball State's new Communication and Media Building, phase two of the McKinley Project and a new residence hall north of the DeHority Complex.
COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA BUILDING
The $21 million Communication and Media Building, which will adjoin the Robert Bell and Ball Communication buildings, will bring the four units of the College of Communication, Information and Media under one roof.
"It will encourage more interdisciplinary collaboration," Dean Roger Lavery said. "We already have a lot of that going on, but we want to create an environment where it can happen spontaneously," he said.
CCIM is planning to do a topping off ceremony in a few weeks when the top beams of the building are in place, Lavery said. The college is shooting to have the ceremony in December before Winter Break.
Kenyon expects classrooms and radio stations to begin moving into the building in December of 2006, after which modifications will need to be made to the existing Ball Building. In addition to using additional space for the Center for Media Design and the Center for Information and Communication Studies, space will go toward the corridor that will connect the buildings, Kenyon said.
The project as a whole should be completed by Summer 2007, Kenyon said. When the project is complete, students will be able to travel from the north entrance of the Bell building to the south entrance of the Art and Journalism building without stepping foot outside, he said.
Lavery said he looks forward to seeing the project completed.
"I think we're on schedule - I don't anticipate any delays," he said. "We're very excited, and we know we'll be moving in before you know it."
MCKINLEY PROJECT PHASE TWO
Phase two of the McKinley project, which should be completed next summer, will continue just north of Neely Avenue to Bethel Avenue. Phase one of the McKinley Project was completed this summer to promote pedestrian safety and allow vehicles to move through the area more quickly.
The project's second phase will include reconfiguration and expansion of the Duck Pond, which will allow it to work better as a retaining area.
The project will include a gateway entrance at Bethel Avenue, a new bridge next to the Duck Pond where the existing bridge is located and a center median on McKinley that will include the same features as the one recently constructed on McKinley.
RESIDENCE HALL
Ball State's Trane Hall lounge was demolished Wednesday to make room for the new hall, Alan Hargrave, director of housing and residence life said.
The new hall, scheduled for occupancy in Fall 2007, will house about 500 students.
With utilities and drainage already taken care of, contractors are now focusing primarily on building the hall, Kenyon said. Hargrave said contractors had already done site preparation work and worked on the foundation and footing of the building.
"They've done quite a bit of work so far," Hargrave said. "I think it'll be a wonderful facility for students. It's an effort to upgrade the housing stock on our campus."
To meet the needs of students living in Woodworth Hall, DeHority Hall and the new hall, the Woodworth Dining Hall will also be expanded and renovated. Some time after the new residence hall is completed, DeHority will also be renovated and modernized.
Though the idea of Ball State's new student center still exists, Kenyon said he did not believe any specific plans had been made for a new student center.
Overall, Kenyon said he was pleased with the progress of Ball State's major construction projects and said they would serve as key assets for the campus.
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