By
Hillary Davis
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Officials say that many students understand the temporary eyesore
Workers are putting finishing touches on the new campus bookstore and gearing up to fence off a portion of the Mall as student union construction nears the second phase.
The bookstore and Associated Students offices were set to relocate to the mostly-completed phase one of the new Memorial Student Union over winter break, but logistical problems with approving the fire alarm system delayed the move until the next "window of opportunity," or Spring Break, said Gilbert Davidson, assistant project manager for the new student union.
"This is a go," he said of the new moving date. "It actually worked out probably for the better. I think we were more organized for the actual move."
With three more months to plan out the relocation, the bookstore, ASUA and associated administration and offices could make a smoother transition into the new facility, Davidson added.
Yesterday, construction employees on their hands and knees filled in cracks in the colored concrete of the bookstore's textbook sales area. Within a few weeks, shelves of books and other class materials will sit on the rust-tinted floor.
ASUA members and other student programs - such as the Women's Resource Center, Escort Service and Speakers Board - could move into their upstairs offices now, Davidson said.
"Everybody has space," he said.
Bob Bertolini, Swinerton and Walberg Builders general superintendent, said the new student union is "setting the bar" for unions across the country - at 400,000 square feet, it will be the biggest college union in the nation, he said.
Bertolini boasted that 12 million pounds of steel and 18,000 cubic yards of concrete will go into the new building.
"This is going to be the showcase for the entire state," said Bertolini as he watched his crew of "rodbusters" set and tie rebar on the structural deck above the loading dock. "There'll be people coming from all over the state to see this."
When students come back to campus next fall, however, they will see that much of the Mall in front of the existing union has been blocked off by an 8-foot tall fence that will be erected in July.
The new bookstore portion of the union will be open by March with a new entrance on the northwest side of the building. The new dining services on the east end of the union will be ready by June.
Davidson said the construction team needs the lawn space east of Old Main because with the new entrances to the building, there is no other space available to store materials.
The staging area will hold steel rods, cranes and other construction vehicles.
The fence will begin at the Engineering building, wrap around the current bookstore entrance and extend about two-thirds into the west end of the Mall.
The fence will come down in August 2002, and Swinerton and Walberg will re-seed and re-grade the Mall, Davidson said.
Davidson said a temporary stage for Mall performances will be set up facing the Administration building, and although the Mall will literally become covered in construction, decorative red and blue slats and possible artwork and vegetation will make the area more visually appealing.
"The eventual Mall beautification - they (students) are on board with it," Davidson said.
Mike Remedi, outreach and development coordinator for the Dean of Student's Office, said he has talked with students on the Mall about the changes the grassy area faces, and agreed that the reaction has been ultimately favorable.
"The knee-jerk reaction is 'That's horrible, you're taking our Mall away, where will he hang out,'" he said.
After being reminded that traffic patterns will shift toward the east end of the Mall anyway, and that the fences surrounding the Integrated Learning Center will come down this June, students change their view, Remedi said.
"Students think, 'OK, maybe that's not so bad,'" he said.
"We're not thrilled with the situation but we're trying to come up with the best case scenario," he added.
