UA finishing up building projects

Theater, academic and sports facilities to be ready for fall

The Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, a project that involves preserving the exterior of the building previously known as the Old Men’s Gymnasium or Old Field House, is set to open in the next two months along with three other buildings on campus.
The Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, a project that involves preserving the exterior of the building previously known as the Old Men’s Gymnasium or Old Field House, is set to open in the next two months along with three other buildings on campus.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Four campus buildings are set to open within the next two months at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, said Mike Johnson, associate vice chancellor for facilities.

photo

The Jerry and Gene Jones Family Student-Athlete Success Center on Meadow Street is seen Monday on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

photo

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Four buildings are set to open within the next two months at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

Available for use this fall will be a performing arts center with what Johnson called "world class" acoustics, two athletic department facilities -- including one bearing the name of famous alumnus and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones -- and the first newly constructed academic building on campus since 2007, according to UA.

Johnson said the four projects combined will cost nearly $100 million. Bare dirt surrounded most of the buildings Monday, with workers still on the scene. Landscaping work involving the planting of trees and shrubs still must be done, Johnson said, as well as testing building systems and making sure furnishings are in place.

Champions Hall, a new four-level academic building, takes its name from $1.25 million in yearly funding to be provided by UA's athletic department to cover debt service on the project, which has an estimated cost of $26.5 million. The university has said about $18 million in bonds have been issued for the building, which will also house an Au Bon Pain cafe.

While UA has opened new athletic and housing facilities in recent years, as well as renovated older academic buildings, few new academic buildings have been built recently. In 2007, UA opened a five-story building, Willard J. Walker Hall, for its Sam M. Walton College of Business.

The third level of Champions Hall will serve as home for UA's Math Resource and Testing Center, an academic support program. The building, approximately 62,000 square feet, will also house biology labs, classrooms and offices.

"All of those are expanded capabilities that we badly need as we grow," Johnson said, noting that UA may have 27,000 students on campus this fall. UA had about 26,200 students enrolled this past fall, and the university in recent years has ranked among the fastest-growing public research universities, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

The Jerry and Gene Jones Family Student-Athlete Success Center, an approximately 55,000-square-foot facility with an auditorium, computer lab and more than 30 rooms for tutoring, will provide a gathering spot for UA's more than 460 Razorback athletes.

Offices will include some academic advising and career support programs, according to UA. The cost of the project is about $23 million.

Jones and his wife, Gene, donated a combination of cash and land to the Razorback Foundation, announced by UA in January as having a value of $10.65 million, with the name of the building announced at that time. The building will also house a full-service kitchen with seating for more than 250 people and what UA has described as a "wellness wing" to provide space for a sports psychologist and dietitians.

Johnson said the new facility provides expanded academic space for athletes beyond what's on campus currently.

"It's going to give them a significantly enhanced academic focus," Johnson said.

Also set to open is the Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center, a renovation project to keep the exterior of what's known as the Old Men's Gymnasium or Old Field house, a structure on the National Register of Historic Places. The Faulkners provided a $6 million gift to support the project, UA announced in 2012.

While the exterior is being kept, the project -- estimated by Johnson at costing $22.5 million -- involved extensive changes to build a concert hall capable of seating just under 600 people. The approximately 39,400-square-foot building will provide an on-campus home for groups like the University Symphony Orchestra.

"It's a capability that the music and drama departments have never had in the first 140-plus years of this campus," Johnson said.

Another athletic department project nearing completion is the Basketball Performance Center, a facility that will feature two full basketball courts. In addition to training rooms and locker rooms, the approximately 66,000-square-foot building will include a lounge and study areas.

Johnson noted that with a dedicated facility for UA's basketball teams to practice, the on-campus Bud Walton Arena may be able to host more events. The project is costing about $25 million.

Metro on 06/30/2015

Upcoming Events