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  • Cnstruction updates on the Student Union and dorm

    Campus projects taking shape
    BY JOHN ANDREWS
    Two multi-million dollar construction projects on the South Dakota State University campus are taking shape, each on target to be open to students by 2005's fall semester.
    Crews are busily working to complete a $6.8 million renovation and addition project to the University Student Union, while just a couple minutes' walk away, another set of construction crews are putting together the $9.25 million Caldwell Hall, a new residence hall located just north of Young Hall on the eastern edge of campus.
    A new option
    Doug Wermedal, assistant dean of student affairs, said basement work and the shell of Caldwell Hall's first and second floors is complete. Crews are now pouring the deck of the facility's third floor and walls are going up in the hall's office complex. Individual room layouts are also complete with steel stud-work on the first floor.
    When it's finished, Caldwell Hall will be much different than the dormitories many SDSU students of old remember. In places like Brown, Pierson or Mathews halls, rooms run opposite one another down long corridors. As many as 60 residents of one floor share a large bathroom.
    Caldwell, however, will house suite-style rooms, with four students sharing a suite. A bathroom will divide it into two sleeping areas. There will be 200 square feet per sleeping area, as opposed to the 151 square feet in a traditional dorm room. The furniture will all be movable and there will be a temperature control in each room. Each floor will have a corner lounge and the hall will be equipped with an elevator.
    "We were definitely after a break in the style of the facilities," Wermedal said.
    That came, in part, from the results of a student survey conducted to gauge students' thoughts about what they would want in a residence hall.
    "We did that survey, and we pretty much answered everything in it," Wermedal said. "Everything that they ranked in their top 10 is in this building."
    There will be 150 suites in Caldwell Hall, 11 of which will be ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant.
    "It's giving us options that we don't have now," Michael Kervin, associate director of residential life, said. "If a student contacted our disabilities services office and had special needs, right now we'd be a little pressed to house more than one or two."
    Wermedal said the university is proposing a rate of $1,450 per semester for students living there. That number needs to be approved by the Board of Regents, he said.
    The construction is being funded through a revenue bond, which will be paid off by student rents and fees from summer conferences housed in the building.
    First Dakota Enterprises, of Pierre, is the builder, while Lightowler Johnson and Associates, of Fargo, is working the design portion. Wermedal also pointed to Les Olive, a senior engineer with physical plant, and Colin Gaalswyk, the project coordinator, as key members of the team behind the new hall.
    With a capacity of 300, Caldwell Hall is named after Ada Caldwell, head of the art department from 1899 to 1937 and instructor to Harvey Dunn. The name was chosen after a series of nominations went through a committee chaired by SDSU's vice president and provost Carol Peterson.
    "It took a look at the fact that as you look around campus, a lot of the facilities are named for males, so gender balance is one issue," Wermedal said. "But Dunn is recognized as essentially a key piece of South Dakota heritage. Most persons in South Dakota have heard of Harvey Dunn and his work. The fact that she (Caldwell) was indeed on our faculty was pretty compelling territory. It's a nice honor."
    We...ARE...STATE!
    SOUTH...DAKOTA...STATE!!

  • #2
    Re: Cnstruction updates on the Student Union and d

    Campus projects taking shape
    BY JOHN ANDREWS

    A more modern Union
    Just down the road, crews have enclosed the addition to the University Student Union and are now working primarily inside the structure, Keith Skogstad, assistant director for the Union, said.
    Heating, ventilation and air condition, plumbing, wiring and windows are all in the process of being installed, Skogstad said. Drywall is going up and brick and block work is nearing completion as well, he said.
    "Carpeting and tile companies are starting to show up. They're not starting to do work, but they are measuring things out, so I would anticipate that in a month or two, they'll be starting to lay some flooring material," Skogstad said.
    Plans for the Union call for a new multipurpose room, similar to the Volstorff Ballroom but double the space, to be located on the northeast part of the building. Dining services space will be expanded and more student lounge space will be added. Altogether, 11,000 square feet will be remodeled and 40,000 square feet will be added.
    The project is being funded through revenue generated from dining services and the bookstore, as well as a $3 increase in the student general activity fee, approved by the Board of Regents in March 2003.
    The facility is set to be finished July 1.
    "The last project meeting we had, the contractor's been telling us they're on time," Skogstad said. "I feel they are too, looking at what they're doing on construction."
    University staff will move back into the Union in July and spend July and August preparing the Union for students. The south entrance to the SDSU Bookstore, built as an alternate entrance during construction, will stay.
    The current University Student Union was completed in 1971. With 100,000 square feet, it was designed to accommodate a student enrollment of 5,000. In November 2002, with a student enrollment nearing 10,000, a proposal was presented to the Board of Regents for a project to expand the Union.

    Construction positive,
    students say

    With the Union shut down this year for construction, its dining locations and other student services have been moved to temporary locations around campus. Students generally agree that while those changes may cause slight inconveniences, the end result will be worth it.
    "As a freshman, I don't really know anything differently," said Kari Berg, a freshman interior design major from Sioux Falls. "It'll be nice when it's opened up next year, but it's not that big of a hassle for me. I don't know anything else."
    Laura Weyrich, a sophomore microbiology major from Sturgis, said the scattered services are a little difficult to deal with.
    "It is a bit, but I think SDSU has done a good job at compensating for it," Weyrich said.
    We...ARE...STATE!
    SOUTH...DAKOTA...STATE!!

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    • #3
      Re: Cnstruction updates on the Student Union and d

      Virtual tour of the Student Union. Impressive!!

      http://media.sdstate.edu/sdsu/union.wmv
      We...ARE...STATE!
      SOUTH...DAKOTA...STATE!!

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      • #4
        Re: Cnstruction updates on the Student Union and d

        Wow.. That is cool !!

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        • #5
          Re: Cnstruction updates on the Student Union and d

          I would think the next project will be the Wellness Center.

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          • #6
            Re: Cnstruction updates on the Student Union and d

            Agreed, I think the Wellness Center should become a priority for SDSU and Brookings. I know in my travels I have walked through some pretty impressive campus recreation centers. I know everyting costs money and SDSU has many projects on the its plate or on the table.

            The Wellness center has the ability to generate income through membership fees, rentals, naming rights, corporate sponsorships, concessions, special events. Plus it would free up the use of Frost Arena and other facilities on Campus. Plus would be excellent recruiting tool for prospective students, faculty, staff.

            I think this topic was discussed earlier, but please refresh my memory regarding the delay for this facility.
            We...ARE...STATE!
            SOUTH...DAKOTA...STATE!!

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