The Main Gate Building at 888 N. Euclid Ave. is definitely worth the wait, say its new occupants.

Plans for 17 departments to move into the new $10 million building were delayed about two weeks over the holiday break, not counting the week-long university shutdown, because of problems with the fire alarms, said University of Arizona Fire Safety Office r Herb Wagner.

Robert Preble, events coordinator for facilities management, could not be reached for comment on the delays.

The original move-in dates for the departments were between Dec. 8 and 31, yet Extended University, the first department to be housed in the building, was unable to move into its third-floor offices until early last week.

"It's been as good as it should have been, though not as quick as we would have liked," said Don Swoboda, dean of Extended University and Summer Session. "We're delighted with everything; we know it will be a positive move."

Extended University wasted no time getting moved into the five-story, 104,000-square-foot building. It began teaching classes to "learners of all ages" in its two computer teaching labs and two third-floor classrooms last Friday.

Extended University moved 50 employees to the location from its previous offices at 1955 E. Sixth St.

David Duffy, director of campus and facilities planning, was excited about moving the eight employees of his department over to the Administrative Annex Jan. 5 and 6. The original move-in dates for the department were Dec. 12 and 13.

Duffy said he knows the department will be running more efficiently from its new on-campus location, since much of its time was taken up with travel between the previous location at 1955 E. Sixth St. and the campus.

The building is "wonderful but lonely," said Duffy. The Campus and Facilities Planning offices are on the second floor, surrounded by empty rooms that will soon be filled with other offices, including Parking and Transportation Services.

Duffy said the building is beautiful and cited good relations with the developer as a reason. Certain suggestions made by a committee of faculty were used in construction, such as an outdoor oval turf for employees to eat lunch on.

There has been some frustration, however. The Office of Community Affairs is scheduled to move in Jan. 18 and 19, but one secretary said they have been ready to go since December.

The same situation holds true for the office of Arid Lands Studies, which is waiting to move from its current location at 845 N. Park Ave. to the recently vacated offices of the Extended University. Its Jan. 12 move-in date has been rescheduled for the fi rst of February.

"It's been pretty difficult working around and in boxes," said Julie Howard, administrative secretary for the arid lands office.

Though there have been some delays, the soon-to-be occupants are anticipating great things. Those who have already moved in expect even greater. Swoboda said, "(We are) delighted; it's going to be tremendous for the university and our program."