Towers of dirt and puddles of muddy water surround the Student Recreation Center these days, but the actual construction of the new and improved Rec Center has yet to begin. The construction seen now can be broken down into four projects—storm water improvements and additions, the addition of sewer lines for the new Psychology building, underground electrical work, data and phone wiring and the construction of central energy lines that will run under the road.

Student Recreation Center Director Tim McNeilly says he is waiting patiently for the University’s Facilities office to “cross the t’s and dot the i’s,” and then the State Construction Office and the Facilities office will create a timeline for construction of the Rec Center expansion. He says he thinks the project will start very soon. The tentative date of completion is July 2012.

“The dirt should start to disappear. They have to move it before we move forward,” McNeilly said. A new building will go up behind the existing Rec Center, and eventually crews will connect the two buildings by knocking out the back wall, forming one large new and improved Student Recreation Center.

Students asked for it, and they will receive. The improvements include six new basketball courts, additional fitness space, racquetball courts, additional group exercise rooms, more office space and an indoor and outdoor swimming pool.

“This facility was too small the day it opened 10 years ago,” McNeilly said, who started presentations on expansion six years ago. He says the expansion fits with expected enrollment growth.

Unlike an academic building which, if built during the course of a semester, cannot open until the following semester, the new Rec Center can be put to use as soon as it is ready. “As soon as we can outfit it, we’re going to open the doors,” McNeilly said.

 

The construction process will impact regular Rec Center hours due to planned power outages, but it will be on random days that authorities cannot pinpoint now.