The University is developing plans to renovate the Nicholson Drive area to create a destination for students and visitors, renovate family and graduate housing and address traffic and safety concerns for students.
“If you drive down Nicholson from the North, if you blink once or yawn, you don’t really know you are on the LSU campus,” said Steven Waller, executive director of the University’s project to develop Nicholson.
Waller, who is also director of Residential Life, said he wants that area to be considered part of the campus. Over the next eight months, Waller, with input from the LSU community, plans to collect ideas for this development and decide which are the most beneficial for students and the community.
Chancellor Michael Martin said he is supportive of this effort.
 
“We are excited about the talks of redeveloping the Nicholson area, and we’re currently looking at all possibilities to create something that is beneficial to the LSU community, while also being good neighbors to the Baton Rouge community around our campus,” Martin said in an e-mail.
Waller said he hopes this development can be funded primarily from the private sector or a cost-sharing initiative so tuition and student fees don’t increase.
The University hopes to take advantage of private offers in order to minimize the financial impact on students, Waller said.
He said the University is in the first phase of the development effort. He wants this to be a “destination for everybody and a place people want to be, not just a place they have to travel through.”
Waller said students have suggested everything from restaurants and gift shops to dry cleaning and a bowling alley. There have also been suggestions of a structure similar to the Student Union or a courtyard like the Quad, Waller said.
Rachelle Mosing, international studies freshman, recommended “a place where students can eat at midnight – somewhere clean and safe.”
Waller said he wants to improve safety for commuters and possibly build a connection corridor to the University.
Mosing said Southeastern University has a tunnel for students to cross through to avoid heavy traffic. She said she would like to see something similar for University commuters.
Waller said updating or replacing the family and graduate housing on Nicholson would be a factor in this new development.
Jazmine Wilson, kinesiology freshman, said she would never consider living in graduate housing in its current condition.
 
“It’s gross,” Wilson said.
Wilson said if they renovated the housing she might reconsider.
She suggested creating a retail shopping area that would include a thrift store for penny-pinching college students.
Ernest Blanche, civil engineering freshman, suggested adding a grocery store to the mix of retail spaces so students don’t have to travel far to get necessities.
On April 18, a “town hall meeting” will be held in the Union for all students, faculty and staff to voice their interests. Waller expects the planning to conclude near the end of October.
 
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Contact Jacy Baggett at [email protected]