The sounds of crumbling rubble and pounding industrial tools might serve as a reminder of the changes made this sum mer to the university’s land scape and how it will continue to be modified throughout the next decade.
Facilities management start ed dorm and dining hall updates and the Housing Master Plan, a 10-year construction project that will uproot most of South Green and add new dorms.
“The projects are all going well and are on track. The ma jority of the housing project is still preparing the site for con struction and that will be the case for some time,” said Ryan Lombardi, vice president for student affairs. “They are still on budget, since this is an agreed-upon budget maximum, and there have been no major sur prises on that front.”
However, if there were any additional construction costs, OU’s residential housing auxilia ry reserve funds would cover it.
OU has taken on about $100 million in debt for the Housing Master Plan alone, which proj ects to open the first set of new residence halls during the 2015- 16 school year, said Christine Sheets, vice president of facili ties and capital planning for stu dent affairs.
Other projects currently in the works include Bush Hall, which is on schedule to reopen in January 2014 after being reno vated for $9.1 million. Bush Hall was originally closed in 2010 because of building system up grades and asbestos removal, according to a previous Post ar ticle.
The Schoonover Building, which was set to open at the be ginning of the school year, was delayed, though facilities man agement officials were unable to explain why in a recent confer ence call with media. The proj ect was estimated to cost $37 million to $40 million. OU is also set to begin its six-year capital improvement plan, which will address deferred maintenance on campus.
Some students say the amount of construction is con cerning.
“Parking is already a bad enough problem as is,” said Cassey Eck, a junior studying fashion merchandising and re tail product development. “Also, the construction can be very distracting toward students’ study habits.”
It will take time for students and faculty to adjust to the con struction, said Harry Wyatt, as sociate vice president for facili ties management.
“We’re in the midst of a very big capital plan,” Wyatt said. “So shifting of parking and access of roadways and things like that will be an ever-evolving thing over the life of the capital im provement plan.”
During the summer, OU closed 500 parking spaces, which will become available once school starts.
“Being an architect, I think experiencing construction is an enhancement of the student ex perience,” Wyatt said. “There’s (going to) be lots of fun things to see and watch and observe. I think that balances the inconve nience.”
