WILL SEBERGER/Arizona Daily Wildcat Cars and pedestrians pass by the Marshall building near the intersection of North Park Avenue and East University Boulevard last night. The building was scheduled to be fully open already, but the Arizona Bookstore is the only part open so far.

Construction on the Marshall building is nearly complete, and its new tenants are getting ready to move in, even though they will have to wait until February.

The Louise Foucar Marshall building, on the corner of North Park Avenue and East Campus Drive, is set to be the new home for the journalism, Near Eastern studies, Middle Eastern studies and Judaic studies departments by the end of February.

"The project is on schedule," said Craig Connelly, project executive for CF Jordan Construction.

The company is repairing small problems encountered in its first reviews, including wiring problems and electrical socket placement as requested by the departments.

The company has not encountered any major problems, Connelly said.

The project was originally reported to be ready by spring semester, but has been pushed back a month or two.

"We were just told that the building would be ready Feb. 23," said Anne Betteridge, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

The heads of the departments that will occupy the space do not seem to be fazed by the delays.

"It is not uncommon for dates to move in construction," said Michael Bonine, head of the Near Eastern studies department.

All classes in the Center for Middle Eastern studies department are being held in open spots across campus. Those classes will remain there and will not move into the Marshall building. Because of that, Phil Nopper, business manager for the department, anticipates the move will only take a day.

"Our phones will go off line at 9 a.m. in Franklin and come on at 11 a.m. in Marshall," Nopper said.

The fact that only the offices will be located in the Marshall building poses a problem for some students within the degree program.

"I don't like not having a designated home base and having everything spread across campus," said Erin McLaughlin, Near Eastern studies senior.

But students who work in the department are excited about the move.

"It's going to be in a nice new building with a reliable heating and cooling unit," said Aaron Moore, executive assistant in the Near Eastern studies department and international studies senior.

The move is not expected to go quite as rapidly for other departments, however.

Jacqueline Sharkey, head of the journalism department, said she is delighted with the new space, but knows the department will not be able to move quickly.

Because so many elements go into the process of the move, it is not something that can be done in a day or week without disrupting classes, she said.

"The 650 students in our department are our first priority," Sharkey said.

The Judaic studies department is in the same situation as the Journalism department.

"It will be disruptive, but everyone will work together to make it go smoothly," said Ed Wright, the head of the Judaic studies department.

The first floor of the building is reserved for retail tenants, but the specific shops and restaurants that will occupy the space will not be divulged until the opening, said Tom Warne, real estate consultant for the Marshall building.

"If I say what businesses will be there, it would give it away," Warne said.

The Arizona Bookstore has been open through the construction, but general manager Rich Mandziak said the construction has not hindered business. The bookstore is already getting more customers than at its previous location on East Sixth Street and North Park Avenue. But it anxiously awaits the completion.

"It's not very customer-friendly right now. We can't wait to have sidewalks instead of fences," Mandziak said.

Warne also said that it is likely a movie theater will be built between the Marshall building and the Marriott hotel. Construction on that building would begin in September and would be finished by summer 2005.

"The possibility of a movie theater is very likely," said Warne.