The Final Installment
Today is the last installment of the epic 3 part series I have been working on. Here are the changes and projects occurring to South Campus. South campus has made many strides in the past years involving the new O’Leary Library renovation, the renovations to the Comley Lane Theater, and last but not least the installment of Starbucks, Subway, and The Hawk’s Nest. All of those improvements to South campus have proven to be great but now it’s time to focus on the big projects! Here we go!
The Health and Social Sciences Building
Say hello to the first new building on south campus in over 30 years! This new building will be the home to health, criminal justice, psychology majors. This new building will ready for the Spring academic semester. The UML website describes this building as:
” The new Health and Social Sciences building will be four stories high and span 69,000 gross square feet. It will house seven classrooms, 16 seminar/project rooms, eight conference rooms and 72 faculty offices. The four-story atrium lobby space with skylights is built in response to requests from members of the University community for space that promotes student and faculty interactions.”
Fun Fact: 75 percent of regularly occupied spaces receive natural light. 40 percent of construction materials manufactured within 500 miles. 75 percent of construction debris recycled. Lastly, although you can’t see it now, there is going to be a very attractive green space area outside of the building.
Riverview Suites
Although this project won’t be finished for quite some time. It will be located on South Campus on Marginal Street. It will however have convenient access to South campus. So don’t be afraid. According to the UML website:
“Riverview Suites, a six-story, 173,000-square-foot residence hall near South Campus will feature suites with two or three double-occupancy bedrooms, a kitchen and a common area. The two-bedroom suites will include one full bathroom, while the three-bedroom suites will have two full bathrooms. “
Fun Fact: Rumor has it there will be a fully functional rec center in this new building.
South Campus Garage
The new South campus garage that is being constructed is part of the University’s solution to what was once a parking problem. This is the second garage the University has built in one year. This parking garage is a little bit bigger than its relatives on north and east campus. The University website describes this garage as:
“The South Campus garage will provide parking spaces for 762 cars on South Campus. Tucked between Mahoney Hall and Riverview Parking Lot, the garage will be conveniently located to all South Campus facilities. The six-and-one-half level open-parking facility is a 191,000-square-foot structure that will provide pedestrian access via a large, glass-enclosed stairway located at the north end of the building.”
Fun Fact: There will still be a parking lot outside from this garage. I remember teaching one of my friends how to drive in this parking lot this summer during one of the evenings. She nearly crashed my car…
Well, that’s all folks. Those are the publicly released projects and developments of the University. Beware, rumors are circulating around the fate of and renovations of many more buildings on campus. Be careful what you believe, but bear in mind that if you know someone (perhaps even me) with insider information to listen carefully. By 2020 Lowell and the UML campus will look astonishingly different than how it looks today. I hope you are as excited as me!
In case you missed the other installments here they are:
East Campus: http://www.umlorientationambassadors.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-changing-east-campus.html
In case you missed the other installments here they are:
East Campus: http://www.umlorientationambassadors.blogspot.com/2012/10/a-changing-east-campus.html
North Campus: http://www.umlorientationambassadors.blogspot.com/2012/10/umass-lowell-progressive-change.html
-Tim Brown