First Year College administrators opened the new FYC Commons Building last week, showing off the new classrooms, computer labs, reception areas and offices across the street from the College’s residence halls.

Those speaking at the ceremony used the word “partnership” most often to describe the new building.

“The village and its activities represent a partnership between academics and student life,” Thomas Conway, the dean of undergraduate academic programs, said at the ribbon-cutting event.

The Commons building boasts new classrooms and offices for advisers of FYC.

“It shows how important First Year College is to campus,” Tim Luckadoo, an associate vice chancellor for student affairs, said. “It’s a major program.”

University Housing began making plans for the Village — which now includes the Commons building and Owen and Tucker residence halls — five years ago, according to Luckadoo.

“We had to figure out what we wanted, where we wanted it, the cost and how to pay for it,” Luckadoo said.

After pondering connecting Owen and Tucker, the planning group settled on the parking lot across from the dormitories.

“When they drew it out as a link building, it took away the green space at Tucker Beach,” FYC Director Carrie McLean said. “That area has a long history and legacy with the University.”

The group originally planned for the building to be two stories, but later decided, at the advice of the Provost, that another story should be added to house Study Abroad, the Transition Program and the new service learning and curricular engagement group, according to Luckadoo.

“[The third floor] made perfect sense,” Luckadoo said. “The building would fit better that way in between the Health Center and Carmichael.”

According to Luckadoo, the cost did not increase too much because of fixed costs for aspects such as roofing already budgeted for, and added that University Housing paid for the first floor while the Office of the Provost rented out the second and third floors.

The second floor houses FYC faculty and staff, including administrators and advisers.

The Study Abroad Office had been split between Pullen Hall and Lee Hall, according to Luckadoo. So the office will leave the bottom floor suite of Lee and move into its new space mid-June.

All three of the departments to be housed on the third floor fall under the Provost, Luckadoo said.

“They all needed more space, and now the space they occupied can be used by others,” he said.

Another spot that has now freed up due to the new building is portions of the bottom floor of Tucker. An area that was once used for FYC faculty and staff offices will now be turned into extra residence areas for the students.

“There were 46 bed spaces on the ground floor of Tucker that will now be turned back into student rooms,” Luckadoo said.

One of the aspects that McLean mentioned as a great benefit is the reception area in the entrance of the new building. Before the new building was constructed, many students were forced to cram into the slender halls of Tucker to wait for advisers or meetings with faculty.

“The reception area is much more inviting and open and really clears the area,” McLean said.

The addition of a computer lab is another key component, as FYC’s main computer lab had been in the Laundry Lab across campus, according to McLean.

“We do a lot of technology assessment as part of our program, and now we can do that right here,” she said.