By Barbara Waters
Excerpt from Tyler Morning Telegraph
"Texas College students will have a better environment when Phase 1 campus improvements, which cost $19.3 million, are complete in November," President Dwight J. Fennell said. "Phase 1 involves 'six moving parts' being carried out simultaneously. Other projects in a four-phase campus improvement plan will take place over a 30-year period," Fennell said.
Planning started a year ago and work began on Phase 1 last October. "In Phase 1, the need was to create a living-learning environment that would help students not only enroll but be retained at a better pace," Fennell said. "I think it will help with both recruitment and retention of our students."
A major part of Phase 1 is construction of a new 214-bed residence hall on campus for approximately $8 million. One side of the new hall will be for men and the other side for women. Suites will accommodate two people and contain a restroom, shower and sitting area.
"Upgrading the two existing residence halls, which were built in 1968, will cost about $2 million," Fennell said. "The inside will be totally renovated to make them more accommodating," he added.
"We are going to refresh those rooms with new floors, accent walls, new lighting, more privacy in the bathrooms and new furniture," Fennell said.
Texas College will be adding things like a learning lab, social gathering spaces, and game room space in both facilities. Most importantly, the College will be able to house over 600 students on campus with the addition of the new residence hall, the two existing residence halls on campus, and the off-campus residential annex, Rose Hall, for men off Loop 323.
Another part of Phase 1, which will cost about $4 million, will involve building a connector tying the cafeteria to the existing student union building.
“We are going to increase our dining capacity. We are going to move our mailroom location. We are going to have a convenience store for students to buy sundry items and create an environment (where) students will have a place to come and socialize,” Fennell said.
Phase 1 also involves turning the athletic complex into a music hall for approximately $500,000.
The backside already houses the choir. Lockers, showers and other things will be taken out of the front portion and the space transitioned into music labs, individual-
ized rooms for voice and music, a recital hall, a lecture hall for band and choir students.
The existing band hall will be made into a fitness center for faculty, staff and students.
An existing complex across Martin Luther King Boulevard will be made into an athletic complex.
"We are going to build another locker room and shower facility on the back side and move everything on campus related to athletics there," Fennell said. The lawn will be resurfaced for practice fields for football, soccer and the marching band.
Another project in Phase 1 will be creating 75 to 100 additional parking spaces on campus.
Phase 2 of the campus improvement plan, Fennell said, will be carried “probably five or so years down the line.”
It will consist of construction of a new gymnasium as a multi-purpose facility with learning labs, bookstore, walking track and student activities area.
There is some interest in eventually turning the existing gymnasium into a college chapel, Fennell said.
"The third phase will be another 10 to 15 years down the line to build new classroom buildings. The fourth phase is an additional classroom building," Fennell said.
Posted By: Reginald Culpepper
Tuesday, July 28th 2015 at 6:14PM
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