Over the past few years, the University has put major effort into renovating and updating campus. Over the next two years, the projects slated to be completed will break development records, according to Assistant Vice President of Planning, Design and Construction Roger Husser.
“We’re breaking a lot of records and milestones in terms of development,” he said.
The UREC Expansion will become the largest development by square footage on campus when it begins to open to students later this spring. The facility features three new pools and a new, longer indoor track, among other things. The project is the University’s largest to date.
However, its record will not stand for long. Next fall, the renovations to Patrick F. Taylor Hall will be completed, making it the largest building on campus. The building has already begun opening, and will be fully open in the fall.
The project includes a roughly 25 percent expansion of Patrick F. Taylor Hall and a complete renovation of the old building, Husser said. When completed, the renovated Patrick F. Taylor Hall will take the crown for the largest development by square footage on campus.
In fall 2018, Patrick F. Taylor Hall will lose its crown to the coming Nicholson Gateway Complex. This development is the result of the first private-public development partnership between the University and private firms, Husser said.
The project will include seven student apartment buildings and retail space located on 28 acres on Nicholson Drive between Skip Bertman Drive and West Chimes Street. Also included in this development project is the construction of Spruce Hall, a new student residence hall being built in the Hart Lot adjacent to Cypress Hall.
These projects are not the only ones the University is working on in the coming months. In addition to the continuous renovation and upkeep of class buildings and dormitories, a full scale model of the lower Mississippi is being constructed at the Water Campus located near the Mississippi Bridge, adjacent to downtown Baton Rouge. The building has been finished, but the model is still being constructed, Husser said.
There are also plans for a facility to be built for the Companion Animal Alliance, which runs the East Baton Rouge Parish Animal Control and Rescue Center The plan is to relocate the shelter located by the Baton Rouge airport to the new facility. There is no set date for construction to begin.
“We understand that they are getting close to their fundraising goals to begin construction,” Husser said.