Students have a new space where they can hang out during their awkward breaks between classes with the recent completion of the South Union Plaza.
The newly landscaped and expanded South Union Plaza is located behind the Student Union between the bike racks and the parking lot and was designed to be a more inviting space for students, said Dennis Mitchell, assistant director for the University’s Department of Planning, Design and Construction.
Mitchell said the plaza on the back side of the Union was previously an area people walked through without noticing it, but by adding landscaping and rearranging benches, the area was softened, allowing the space to be better utilized.
“It is like an outdoor living room with furniture close enough to sit and hold a conversation with friends right across from you, and it’s working well,” Mitchell said.
Eventually, the trees will mature and cover the area, Mitchell said.
Executive Director of Auxiliary Services and the Student Union Jason Tolliver said enhancing areas around the Union is part of the effort to improve the overall aesthetics of Union Square.
“The Union has always been the heart of campus,” Mitchell said. “We want to make it a festive, fun outdoor space.”
“Our desire is to create a more pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare in front of the Union,” Tolliver said.
Tolliver said 26,000 square feet inside the Union is still undergoing renovations and future plans for the Union Square are still in the works but include new lighting, seating and possibly a fountain in the front of the Union.
“The Union is the place where you stop and you eat and you study,” Mitchell said. “However, in the past it has been a little awkward to get to, so what we are looking at is how to make a pedestrian connection to where all roads lead to the Union.”
Eventually, the whole front of the Union will be renovated in terms of hard landscaping and possibly expanding sidewalks to improve pedestrian traffic.
“We are looking at the whole area in the front of the Union and designing ways to open up those areas to make it more user-friendly as a market-type atmosphere,” Mitchell said.
“The Union has always been the heart of campus…We want to make it a festive, fun outdoor space.”
