(Posted 2-10-00)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News Service Contact: Steve Gilliam, 336-334-5371
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ELLIOTT UNIVERSITY CENTER
EXPANSION PROJECT STARTING
GREENSBORO--After more than 45 years of service as the "living room" for students and as the crossroads of the campus at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, venerable Elliott University Center is getting a major facelift and extensive renovations in a project estimated to last more than two years.
The expansion project will result in a modern student center that will include two major additions totaling approximately 75,000 square feet of new space. These are a Student Commons area, which will include expanded bookstore and food court areas, and a 500-seat auditorium. The project also will provide centralized services and amenities for residential and commuter students as the University's enrollment continues to increase.
"This exciting project will provide an enormous enhancement in the quality of campus life for our students," said UNCG Chancellor Patricia A. Sullivan. "The Center has served its purpose for many years, but it is woefully outdated and needs to be enlarged and renovated.
"Since the original building opened in 1953, our student body has increased over five- fold. The demographics of our student body have changed, and the needs of those students have changed. This expansion project will result in a modern facility that will meet those needs for years to come as Elliott Center continues its role as the crossroads of our campus."
Elliott University Center (EUC) currently has approximately 119,000 square feet of space. The two-phase project will cost approximately $22 million. Grading of the construction site will begin in mid-February. During the project, part of a surface parking lot will be occupied for the building site. To visit the project's web site, click here.
As part of the site preparation, approximately 20 trees will have to be cut down, including 13 located within the "footprint" of the new addition. Another grove of trees will be preserved and the entire site will be landscaped upon completion of the project.
Phase 1 of the project will be construction of the new, 50,000-square-foot Student Commons addition, at an estimated cost of $7.5 million. Funding will be through dining service revenues and will not involve student fees. The two-story structure will include expanded book store and food court areas, along with roomy lounge spaces in which residential and commuting students can dine, study or meet with friends. The addition also will provide a large rotunda entrance to the building. Several thousand students currently pass through EUC each day, entering and leaving through double doors on each end of the building.
The Student Commons addition will be a "shell" structure. Its interior spaces will be furnished and fitted out for use by UNCG's two major service contract holders: Barnes & Noble Booksellers for the book store, and ARAMARK for food court area.
Phase II consists of the existing building's complete renovation, along with construction of a 25,000-square-foot, 500-seat auditorium. The total cost will be approximately $14.5 million. Included in the project will be installation of new electrical, plumbing, life safety and heating-ventilation-air-conditioning systems, along with a complete reconfiguration of the building's old space.
Funding for Phase II of the expansion project will be through a $120 increase in the student facilities fee, which was approved by the UNCG Board of Trustees on Feb. 10. Private funds also will make up a portion of the cost.
The project will not be without inconvenience to the campus, said Dr. Carol Disque, UNCG vice chancellor for student affairs. During construction, pedestrian traffic will be re- routed around the site and students will no longer be able to walk through the Center to go from one side of campus to the other. The gravel parking lot across from the Walker Avenue parking deck will be closed for approximately four to six weeks, but 148 spaces in the lot will be returned to use when grading and site preparation are completed. Portions of two streets -- Forest and Theta -- will be closed permanently.
"Every effort has been made to minimize problems that our students might have in getting to their campus destinations," said Disque. "We regret the inconvenience, but it is not possible to carry out a project of this size without some major changes in campus routines. We ask students, faculty, staff and visitors to our campus to bear with us until the project is completed."
Since the original building opened in 1953, with a student body of 2,404, the campus headcount enrollment has grown to 12,997 at the start of the current 1999-2000 year. When an addition to the building opened in 1968, the student body was at 5,889.
The building was named in honor of the late Harriet W. Elliott (1884-1947), who served from 1913-47 at the institution that is now UNCG. She was a professor of political science and served as dean of women from 1935 until her death in 1947. She was called to Washington in 1940 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to join the National Advisory Defense Commission. During World War II, she also held other appointments. Originally called Elliott Hall, its name was changed to Elliott University Center in 1973.
In addition to the Student Commons area and the 500-seat auditorium, both phases of the Elliott expansion will provide other new spaces, including a Multicultural Resource Center, a Meditation Center and expanded meeting rooms with state-of-the-art technology. The Career Services Center will be relocated from the Foust Building to an accessible, high-traffic location.
"In the future, Elliott University Center must serve dual functions," said Carol Disque. "One of those is functions is to offer attractive, efficient, high quality services which respond to the personal and academic needs of students, and which support the activities of student organizations.
"The other crucial function is to provide flexible high quality space, equipped with appropriate technology. The new and renovated space in the project will support the social, cultural, and recreational needs of students, the student life program, the University community, and the broader public of UNCG. This project will meet both those needs."
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