Almost six months after the LSU Board of Supervisors met to discuss the future of the Student Union’s construction budget, the Student Union and Union Theater fee increase is finally going into effect. Union construction continued during the winter break. Shirley Plakidas, Union director, said one major accomplishment was replacing a deteriorated sewer line that runs on the east side of the building. “We tried during the project to have certain things happen at times when the students were not here because it means either turning off some of the power to the building or turning off the air conditioning or heating or disruption of hot water,” she said. Plakidas said workers also made progress with the interior of the ground floor where McDonald’s and Einstein Bagels will be located. She said that portion of the project should be completed by the end of this semester. “The reason that it’s important for McDonald’s and Einstein Bagels to be up and running by the end of April is because in the middle of May, they will shut down the food court on the second floor,” she said. Plans for the Tiger Lair’s summer renovation include opening Panda Express and creating separate self-sustaining units for each dining option. “Every unit will have its own cash register, so that means they can be more selective about what they keep open for different hours,” Plakidas said. “Right now, it’s either the whole food court is open or nothing.” Plakidas said the theater, which seats about 1,300 people, will also close for renovations this summer after spring recitals conclude. She said the seating will be refurbished with some reconfiguration, but the capacity will remain the same. Although the project experienced a few setbacks because of Hurricane Katrina, construction is expected to meet completion by early 2010. The project was supposed to wrap up this year. Plakidas also attributed the delay to the discovery of undocumented underground structures including sewer lines, water lines and cable lines. The entire project is estimated to cost about $82 million at completion with the help of the fee increase. “And of course with a project as big as this, there’s always the chance that we will end up saving some funds by the end of the project, so that would be nice surprise at the end if we’re able to that,” she said. Plakidas said there are no plans for large-scale construction after the Union and the theater have been completed, but further landscaping to create a “park atmosphere” is in sight. “One thing we hope to do when the project is finished is some nice landscaping in the Live Oak Grove that is not included in the project except for the precautions that we took to protect the oak trees prior to the project,” she said. “The Union spent about $60,000 irrigating and mulching the trees, so they would not be shocked or damaged during construction.”
—-Contact Angelle Barbazon at [email protected]