The Observer, March 25, 2005
Volume XXXVII, Issue 22
Campus development projects continues
As anyone that has lived on Northside in the last eight months knows, the first phase of new campus housing is well on its way to completion although some details still remain to be resolved.
Phase One of the construction project is nearing its end, but there are many phases left to go. Greek housing, freshman housing, and low-priced housing all have yet to break ground.
The buildings and playing fields currently in progress are proceeding on schedule.
"We're on schedule to open on time," said vice president of Student Affairs Glenn Nicholls, "and, in fact, the only thing that really matters is being done, opening, and having everything done well."
Case has worked through some problems already to keep everything on time, Nicholls said. Those problems include uncooperative weather and building code problems that needed fixing.
"I'd say the single largest problem was before we started Building 6-7, the price of steel went up a lot…, so that was a problem because that part of our project became more expensive," Nicholls said.
Now that these problems have been worked through, Greek houses are next in line for construction.
"We don't want just Greek houses, we want a sense of a Greek village," Nicholls said.
The first Greek housing lottery was pushed back because a final site plan for the Greek construction has yet to be picked.
Since Greeks will be staying in their current houses and living situations for next year, the school is working with Bon Apetit to provide food for the chapters that use the Case meal plan.
The current housing plan is for all non-Greeks living on campus to be housed Northside, but it is possible that some students will end up Southside with some of the Greeks. According to Nicholls, if the freshman class ends up bigger than expected, Case might need to put some number of students, likely sophomores and juniors, in Southside housing.
In order to make sure that everyone is housed in Northside in the future, expanded freshman housing that extends farther toward Ford Road will be built. North of that, where the current Northside dorms stand, new dorms for students who don't want the higher-priced, apartment-style housing will be built.
"My most immediate concern is staying on time and under budget," Nicholls said, noting that a 1 percent increase on the $120 million construction is still over $1 million.
Two projects also currently being worked on that are not part of the North Residential Village are the "college town" development and the development of a new student center.
The college town development has already seen work done on it. The purchase of the Triangle property at the corner of Ford, Euclid, and Mayfield in December was a step toward this development.
Originally, Case and UCI were going to work with a developer and Case was not going to purchase to property. Complications with the developer along with a lowering of the price of the property by the owners caused Case to go out and purchase the property for themselves, Nicholls said.
The college town development aims to provide more immediate retail, food, and entertainment possibilities for students, and administrators said the Triangle location is perfect for that sort of development.
"It really is the ideal location," vice president of Campus Planning Ken Basch said.
The student center, however, is not as far along in its planning. "We are looking at the site for the campus center at the former Freiberger Field," Basch said.
According to Nicholls, the proposed student center would include area for student organizations, more food options, and a good multipurpose space, among other possibilities. The school is still looking into what will be there as well as how to fund it.
Case has projects at all levels right now and will be expanding the campus over the next several years.
