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M&C| WEDNESDAY | 01.20.2016| MACEANDCROWN.COM
NEWS
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A LOOK INSIDE ODU’S CAMP Courage Millers Partners Challenge Course: An outdoor, twelve station challenge course designed and run by the Department of Recreation and Wellness is being planned for Whitehurst Beach. The purpose of the course is to promote team cooperation more than physical fitness. “That’s my biggest hope,” Bridget Nemeth, director of Recreation and Wellness, said, “that students see this awesome course and recognize it as a great facilitator of teamwork.” Groups of students or faculty will make their way through a sequence of low-level –no more than one to two feet off the ground — adaptable puzzles and obstacles lead by a trained facilitator. The course will be ADA certified and can be adapted to meet the particular needs of any group. Homeland Contracting Corporation won the construction contract at just over $225,000. Christopher Pewterbaugh, the project manager for Design and Construction at ODU, says Homeland hopes to break ground mid-February and to finish the course by the end of April of this year. The project is entirely funded by donations from Ralf Courage and Jeffrey Miller from Courage Millers Partners, LLC. A nighttime architectural rending of the new Education Building, scheduled to be completed soon.
An architectural rendering of the soon-to-beexpanded L.R. Hill Sports Complex.
L.R. Hill Sports Complex Expansion: The L.R. Hill Sports Complex, currently used mainly as a football practice facility, is set to be expanded. The complex is also used by the women’s lacrosse and field hockey teams. The expansion, being carried out in two phases, will involve enlarging the facility by 16,912-square-foot by relocating and enlarging the existing 6,000-square-foot weight training facility to the new addition. The expansion will also include offices for the strength coach and staff, offices for academic advisers and graduate assistants, a meeting room, a dining area and a workout mezzanine with a large picture window looking out onto the practice field. Construction on the $4.16 million project being built by RRRM Design-Build and designed by Clark-Nexsen Architecture and Engineering began in late 2015, with completion expected this fall. The project will be funded by original (leftover) funding from the original building’s construction in 2008. No tax money will be spent. Whitehurst Hall Improvements: Both the Legends Dining Hall in Whitehurst and the residence hall’s HVAC system are expected to be upgraded soon. A $3.38 million project is planned to improve the building’s ventilation. Currently, the working drawings by project designer VMDO Architects are about 90 percent completed. If the project is approved in accordance with state regulations, the project would take place next summer with expected completion by the fall. Not much is known at this time about the Legends project, but it will involve renovating (not expanding) the existing facility. New Student Union Building: A detailed analysis is underway to determine whether renovating the existing Webb Center would be more or less cost-effective than building a new student union. Regardless of which direction ODU heads in, there will be a need to account for space on the existing Webb Center footprint for a new Student Engagement and Enrollment Services building and the new Physical Sciences building. The master plan for the new Physical Sciences building site will not be available until the schematic drawings of the new Student Union building, which are expected to be completed in the late April or early May by Moseley Architects and WTW Architects, are submitted. The former Education Building would likely be used as a temporary space for offices and facilities currently housed in the Webb Center.
HVAC improvements and a renovation of Legends Dining Hall are planned for Whitehurst Hall.
Child Study Center Moving to the University Village: In mid-2017, the Child Study Center will move to the University Village. The building’s construction is being funded as a part of the New Education Building project because it was originally going to be a renovation of the current facility, adjacent to the Batten Arts and Letters building. However, the university ran into issues because the cost of a renovation of the Lions Child Study Center has exceeded the cost of building a new facility in the Village along Killam Ave. The building is currently in its design phase with a final design expected to be ready by the end of this year. The building could be complete as soon as early 2018.
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