Major changes will be coming to the front of Ohio University’s Southern campus as a recent clearing of houses makes way for expansion.
The university has demolished three homes near the campus’ northeastern corner as part of a plan to expand the campus’ parking.
Two of the houses were vacant and one was dilapidated, said Bill Willan, dean of OU-Southern. The houses will be replaced with a parking lot for its Collins Center.
“We had problems with parking spaces filling up around Collins Center,” Willan said.
The main entrance to campus at the north will also be expanded. A roundabout currently serves as the main entrance to campus and will be widened to accommodate more traffic, Willan said, adding that he wasn’t sure how many more parking spaces would be created by the expansion.
The renovations, which will cost $700,000, come from the capital budget and are part of the university’s capital plan. One-time funds will supplement the budget.
“The planning stages are all done, but we haven’t proceeded with the next stages yet — bids and all,” Willan said. “It could be done within a year, but I wouldn’t plan on it.”
Third of OU’s five branch campuses in terms of size, OU-Southern had an enrollment of almost 2,200 in Fall 2010. It consists of four buildings in downtown Ironton, according to the Office of Institutional Research. Its enrollment has increased by 18.2 percent since Fall 2004.
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