<p>They’ve been talking about demolishing Paty, Palmer, and Somerville since I was in school 40 years ago!</p>
<p>Bama needs to build more dorms before they demolish any needed dorms.</p>
<p>As customary, the university takes the summer to brush up on construction needs that would impractical during the school year. Hackberry Lane will be closed from University Blvd to the Campus Dr parking deck until August, so detours will be necessary on that part of campus. Bama Bounders beware.</p>
<p>Though less obtrusive to summer traffic, the area behind the president’s mansion is being completely redone. A new road will connect Sorority Row with 7th Ave. In the process New Hall, Byrd Hall, Parker-Adams Hall and Wilson Hall will be demolished. This will clear the way for 4 new sorority houses. You can see the powerpoint presentation here:</p>
<p><a href=“http://bamaparking.ua.edu/information/magnolia-drive-ext/Magnolia-Drive-Extension.pdf[/url]”>http://bamaparking.ua.edu/information/magnolia-drive-ext/Magnolia-Drive-Extension.pdf</a></p>
<p>A campus can never have too many sorority houses in my opinion :-)</p>
<p>[UA</a> to build center for water research](<a href=“http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20110617/NEWS/110619743/1007/news?p=all&tc=pgall"]UA”>http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20110617/NEWS/110619743/1007/news?p=all&tc=pgall)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Wow…lots more to be going on!</p>
<p>I’m looking forward to learn what the Bryce Property will be used for. </p>
<p>Does the back part of Bryce have a view of the River? If so, I wonder if that could be the site of some future University Club …the existing one has become too small for many functions.
[The</a> University Club](<a href=“http://www.universityclub.ua.edu/pages/history.html]The”>http://www.universityclub.ua.edu/pages/history.html)</p>
<p>I think there’s more news to come today. There are more developments up for discussions by the BOT mentioned in an article that was in the print edition of this week’s Crimson White (I cannot find it online for some reason).</p>
<p>[Board</a> of Trustees to discuss tuition increase | The Crimson White](<a href=“YouA moves from Youtube – The Crimson White”>YouA moves from Youtube – The Crimson White)</p>
<p>Paty to be renovated!? yuck. well, maybe millions can make it look good. Central library to be expanded, but where is the space for that? More McMansions for the Greeks, jk NJersey. Russel Hall to be renovated, and expande, etc. lots of info in the link above.</p>
<p>I’m excited to hear about all the upcoming construction projects, some of which I’ve heard about previously and some I haven’t. It seems like UA is like Disneyland in that it will never be finished with construction.</p>
<p>That said, Paty needs to be torn down ASAP. Tutwieler could also be replaced, but it is on a side of campus I rarely visit and is well-liked by certain groups of students.</p>
<p>The CW article mentions the following (thank ATL for the link, I don’t know why I couldn’t find it):</p>
<p>*A renovation and edition of the Ferguson Center. Much needed in my opinion, but it would be better in my opinion if they completely demolished the existing Ferg and Student Services Building and build a brand new student center from scratch. Sure it would be massive inconvenience to the students (but when has that stopped the administration before?), but it would bold and get the job done quickly.</p>
<p>*An expansion of Gorgas Library. I don’t see this being too hard to accomplish. There is always talk of removing all vehicular traffic from the Quad, so it would be easy expand Gorgas over Capstone Dr. A Gorgas expansion is much needed.</p>
<p>*Renovations to Paty and Tutwiler were mentioned as possible options to be explored at a later date</p>
<p>feeno…did your spell check get the best of you? lol j/k</p>
<p>A renovation and **edition **of the Ferguson Center.</p>
<p>*The University will also acquire a federal military training facility for educational purposes.</p>
<p>Trustees will discuss plans to renovate and add additions to the Ferguson Center, which was constructed in the 1970s to serve a smaller student body. The project planned includes accommodating the Student Media and Career Center.</p>
<p>Other future plans include an addition to Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library that will double the current seating capacity, enhance access to critical print collections to students and faculty in the Humanities and Social Sciences, and offer the technology-driven infrastructure found in libraries at peer institutions.</p>
<p>Trustees will also discuss long-term plans that may be submitted to the Board for approval within the next two years. Some of these plans include a project targeted for Sewell-Thomas Stadium, Tutwiler Hall renovation, Paty Hall renovation and various infrastructure projects.*</p>
<p>If Tut and Paty can be renovated in a timely manner (such as over a summer) then it makes sense to do so. The school can’t eliminate those needed beds. I think there are about 900 girls in Tut, or am I confused?</p>
<p>Renovating rather than rebuilding may help keep those dorm costs low. With rising tuition, the school doesn’t also need sky-rocketing dorm costs. </p>
<p>hmmm…how will Gorgas be expanded? Are you saying that the addition would be on north side of the building? or, maybe to the east side (without hurting the front view )</p>
<p>Probably they will expand the north side, which itself was an annex built in the late 60s/early 70s.</p>
<p>Latest developments approved by the Board of Trustees.</p>
<p>[UA</a> approves new construction plans | TuscaloosaNews.com](<a href=“http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20110916/NEWS/110919801/1007?p=all&tc=pgall&tc=ar]UA”>http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20110916/NEWS/110919801/1007?p=all&tc=pgall&tc=ar)</p>
<ul>
<li><p>A new residence hall to be constructed where Rose Towers stands now. Rose will be demolished after this year. It will be the twin of the still under-construction North Bluff Residential community. It will be seven stories tall and have 864 beds and is expected to open in fall 2014. Rose is 13 stories and has 750 beds. It was built in 1969.</p></li>
<li><p>A new rec center and dining hall will be built in between the two residence halls. The Rec Center will have everything but a pool. The dining hall will seat 250 people.</p></li>
<li><p>A $27.5 million project that will add nearly 60,000 square feet onto the south end of the Ferguson Center, while renovating 99,000 square feet. The Supe Store will the main beneficiary of the new addition as it will nearly doubled in size. I don’t fully understand this development as it will either have to be underground, or it will cut into the North Ferguson parking lot (but I’ve always heard that that particular parking lot will be eliminated in the next few years anyway.</p></li>
<li><p>This is really needed…a 50,000-square-foot addition to the Gorgas Library. Will double the seating capacity of the library. Looks like most of the addition will come from adding two basement floors underneath the 1967 addition to the building, aka the back wing, which faces north on Capstone Drive. The south, “main” entrance will be updated to have a grander facade to match the north, “traditional”, entrance.</p></li>
<li><p>Another frat house</p></li>
<li><p>A 50,000 sq. ft digital media center to be built the Zone at Bryant Denny Stadium.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>During their meeting last week, the BOT approved a few new projects. (The hubub over the UAB stadium overshadowed the news, I guess).</p>
<ol>
<li><p>A new $15 million, 700-seat dining hall to be be build on Hackberry Lane across from the Campus Dr. parking deck. It seems the existing building there (Kilgore House) will be demolish. I’m personally unsure how a 700-seat dining hall will fit in that space, even if the house is demolished, unless it will be multi-story building.</p></li>
<li><p>A new $6.2 million fraternity house for Pi Kappa Phi on University Blvd just west of the student health center</p></li>
<li><p>A 1,000-car parking lot behind the College of Nursing building (IOW, out in the middle of nowhere for all intents and purposes)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>* A 1,000-car parking lot behind the College of Nursing*</p>
<p>Well, it will serve its intended purpose. That lot will support a building that has around 1000 upper-classmen nursing students and faculty members.</p>
<p>Since clinicals often run 8am-5pm, parking spaces don’t have much daily “overturn” during the day like other lots.</p>
<p>* A new $15 million, 700-seat dining hall to be be build on Hackberry Lane across from the Campus Dr. parking deck. It seems the existing building there (Kilgore House) will be demolish. I’m personally unsure how a 700-seat dining hall will fit in that space, even if the house is demolished, unless it will be multi-story building.
*</p>
<p>Well, the new building will have a larger footprint, but if you look at the map below (zoom in near the SEC and parking deck), the new dining hall can run along Hackberry and then go deep towards the Eng’g library and the backside of SEC Phase II. It might even connect somehow to the library. If not, they seem to be able to put these buildings rather close together…like maybe a 20 foot easement between. </p>
<p>They probably can fit something that’s the size of the downstairs area of Lakeside Dining…don’t know how many that seats. </p>
<p>That said, it may be multi-story with some other use upstairs.</p>
<p>That area needs a dining hall. With the growth of Engineering, those kids need a closer place to eat.</p>
<p><a href=“Page Not Found | The University of Alabama”>Page Not Found | The University of Alabama;
<p>Very sad to see that the Kilgore House will be razed. I think it is such a beautiful old house, and its uniqueness is a complement to this area of campus. But I do understand the need for a new dining hall.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Perhaps it can be moved? It looks small enough to move. I wonder if that has been explored. Maybe the cost to move and update is too much?</p>
<p>[Kilgore</a> House - The University of Alabama](<a href=“Page Not Found | The University of Alabama”>Page Not Found | The University of Alabama)</p>
<p>Built in 1890</p>
<p>I’m not seeing anything that says that it will be demolished. I’m just seeing that the new dining hall will be placed there. Perhaps it is going to be moved.</p>
<p>The University really needs to provide some sort of dining facility that can serve the nursing and music schools. There isn’t a single option right now that allows a student with a one hour break between classes to walk (or take a bus) over to the dining hall, eat and be back at the nursing or music building within the hour. The best option currently is Bryant Hall, but that doesn’t work for dinner – and both nursing and music students often are in their academic buildings late into the evenings. Unfortunately this new dining hall is farther than Mary Burke from both music and nursing.</p>
<p>The University really needs to provide some sort of dining facility that can serve the nursing and music schools.</p>
<p>Very good point.</p>
<p>Since the school is growing so much, I wouldn’t be surprised if Bama is looking into expanding Moody or adding another Music bldg in that area. If so, then it would make sense to include some kind of dining venue…even if only retail and/or with a meal-plan use option (like the Food Court used to have before Lakeside was built).</p>
<p>Even if you removed the Kilgore House, there just isn’t a lot of space. The area next to the SEC is a loading lot for the library and SEC, so it’s not available. (Look at the satellite map.) And putting two buildings so close to one another (especially at an odd angle) would not be aesthetically pleasing.</p>
<p>How big is Lakeside Dining Hall?</p>