Red construction walls, busy workers in hard hats, cranes, bulldozers and half-finished buildings are greeting students at the start of the 2003-2004 school year, the sight and sounds of which Wahoos will continue to live with for months to come.
The construction is costing the University tens of millions of dollars and some of it is behind schedule, due mostly to inclement weather, but officials say that over time it will make the University a better place to live.
Among the many projects the University currently has in the works are a special collections library in front of Alderman Library, a multi-purpose arena, a parking garage behind the Cavalier Inn and a footbridge over Emmet Street.
The University also is upgrading many of its already-existing facilities, including renovating Observatory Hill dining hall and adding to the Aquatic Fitness Center.
More construction is set to get underway in coming months, including the initial stages of the South Lawn Project.
Construction has been one of the victims of the wet weather that has plagued Charlottesville over the past year.
The special collections library was delayed by the weather and is now scheduled for completion by March 16, 2004.
Snow, rain, and delivery delays for some materials have slowed progress on the special collections library, University Spokesperson Carol Wood said.
The tentative date for completion of the basketball arena is early fall 2006. Charlottesville and the University have made a variety of changes to roads and traffic patterns to accommodate the new arena.
The most significant change is a North Grounds Connector Road that is expected to improve traffic to the arena.The new road will connect Massie Road to the 250 Bypass near the North Grounds Recreation Center, Wood said.
"There will be smaller changes in the immediate area of the arena and its parking garage associated with entry, exit and service to the facility," she said.
University Hall will remain in use until the arena is complete.
The budget for the new arena now totals $129.8 million, an $8.8 million increase from original plans.
Dirk Katstra, executive director of the Virginia Athletics Association, said the new arena is long overdue.
"U-Hall is an old building that doesn't adequately address the needs for the players or the students and fans," Katstra said.
Construction of a new arena has raised hopes among some students for a larger student section. Officials have not, however, committed to increasing student seating.
"We don't know how many seats will be for the students," Katstra said. "They are not filling up the seats dedicated to students in U-Hall on a consistent basis. There is an opportunity for an increase."
The Virginia Athletics Foundation said they believe the new arena will reenergize U.Va.'s basketball programs, as well as benefit the University as a whole.
"The Foundation is enthusiastic about the new arena and its opportunity to improve athletics at the University," Katstra said. "I think the arena itself will position our programs to be among the nation's elite.It opens up the door for a lot more opportunities for our community."
The South Lawn project will include the renovation of Cocke Hall and Rouss Hall. New Cabell will be demolished and in its place there will a new building for classes. Another new building, which also will house classrooms, will be located across Jefferson Park Avenue, at the current site of a parking lot.
The AFC project will include a new three-court gymnasium as well as an indoor track, multipurpose rooms to accommodate aerobics, yoga, dance and martial arts, additional free weight space and an expansion of the existing space for cardiovascular exercise and cycling classes.
The AFC project was scheduled to be completed by December 2003, but due to the soggy weather the project will not be completed until February 2004. The AFC remains open despite continuous construction.
The total cost for the new addition is slated at $8 million.
The Emmet Street/Ivy Road parking garage was to be completed by July 2003, but is now scheduled for mid-to-late November, a development that has some students concerned that parking will be in short supply over the next few months.
"I'm very enthusiastic about it; I sure wish it was open already, but they are doing the best they can," Parking and Transportation Director Becca White said. "They have a contract, of course, and they are within their contract if we get it early November."
Construction on O-Hill, which is expected to cost $11.5 million, is tentatively scheduled to be completed July 2004.
"Construction is supposed to be completed next summer, so the facility will be ready to open when students return in fall that year," Director of Dining Services Brent Beringer said.
The current Treehouse will be torn down and a new Treehouse will be part of the new O-Hill building.
"It's a three-story building with an assembly area and a place to have picnics," Beringer said."The bottom floor will have a patio and will replace the Treehouse."
Officials said the new O-Hill will allow Dining Services to offer a greater variety of food to students.
"It's going to allow us to do a lot of things for the students," Beringer said. The new O-Hill will have "new food ideas and new food trends.We are hoping to add some kosher dining in some locations."
O-Hill currently is serving students, though some seats have been removed as part of the construction, thereby reducing the dining's hall's capacity.
"We encourage the RA's to take the students to Runk and Newcomb," Beringer said.
Students are learning to live with the construction on Grounds in anticipation of an improved campus.
"It's an inconvenience," first-year Engineering student Mike Dennis said. "I pretty much know my way around campus, but it does wake me up in the morning."
Other students are having difficulty adjusting to the pandemonium.
"It's nerve-racking in the morning with all the noise," first-year College student Helene Sims said.
For other students, the construction is not a problem at all.
"I don't even notice" the construction, first-year College student Darryl Jennings said.
Through the noise and the complicated parking situation, some students remain hopeful the construction will improve the University in the future.
"It will be worth it in the end, but now it makes things hectic," second-year college student Angela Clements said. "In order to improve things, you have to sacrifice."
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