Area to be transformed into campus green space
After 12 years of being fenced-off, the area between the Life Science Building and Klehm Hall will be transformed into green space.
Rex Hilligoss, the campus architect, said work on this project will start around March 1 when the weather allows and he expects to have it completed by mid-summer.
“We will be removing the street paving, curbs and gutters, closing off both ends of the area and placing top soil and seeding to create a lawn area,” Hilligoss said.
Gary Reed, the director of Facilities Planning and Management, said the area has been used for storing construction materials and equipment belonging to contractors since the Booth Library renovations in 1998.
Hilligoss said the area is currently being used for contractor staging for the Renewable Energy Center.
“This space has been very beneficial to our construction efforts for the past 10 years, giving our contractors a small staging area for materials and their office trailers,” Hilligoss said.
Hilligoss said an outside contractor will do the construction, and Facilities Planning and Management will oversee the work being done.
The project for transforming the space between the Life Science Building and Klehm Hall into a lawn area was proposed in the landscaping section of the Master Plan presentation.
“(The construction of the space) agrees with the Master Plan and will beautify campus by creating sustainable green space in place of pavement,” Reed said.
Hilligoss agreed.
“This work will provide the students with another green space to enjoy and will soften the visual impact between the buildings,” Hilligoss said.
This is one of the first steps in landscaping improvements for the Spring 2011 semester mentioned in the 2010 update of the Master Plan presentation.
Reed said additional campus landscaping improvements defined in the Master Plan presentation will be completed as funding is identified and becomes available.
Other areas with planned landscaping improvements mentioned in the Master Plan presentation expand from the lawn area of Old Main to Carman Hall.
These improvements are scheduled to happen over the course of the next 15 years.
Rachel Rodgers can be reached at 581-2812
