By Mary Fan
Arizona Daily Wildcat
May 13, 1998

ILC, formerly IIF, begins campus construction wave

The newly dubbed Instructional Learning Center is the first project in a wave of construction to be unleashed this summer as engineers lay the groundwork for several additions to the UA campus.

"The Instructional Learning Center is one component of a grander scheme of many things being upgraded along the Mall area," said Peter Dourlein, manager of the ILC project and a senior architect for the university's Facilities Management Department.

Four projects prolonging construction along the University of Arizona Mall will follow on the heels of the estimated 18-month-long project to build the underground freshman facility formerly known as the Integrated Instructional Facility, said UA President Peter Likins.

"They'll start at different times, but there will be a time when all four projects are going on at the same time, and that will be very disruptive," he said.

Starting in June, workers will lay chilled water lines and water mains and cut detours to mitigate the construction's effects on campus life, Dourlein said.

Sections of North Cherry Avenue near East University Boulevard will be closed, and traffic will be rerouted during this mini-construction period, he said.

The Sun Tran bus stop will be shifted east from its current site in front of the Visitor Center, and bus traffic will be redirected to a temporary road cut through a portion of Mall east of Cherry Avenue.

The construction team will split the project into parts to ensure the critical parking lot adjoining the Visitor Center will remain in use throughout construction, Dourlein said.

"It will always be accessible - sometimes from the north entrance, sometimes from the south entrance," he said.

Engineers will also cut a bicycle route detour that will divert cyclists along either side of the construction site to East Fourth and East Second streets.

"We hope to divert and detour so they don't hit dead ends," Dourlein said. "To minimize inconveniences, we will have signs prominently posted to tell them in advance."

The measures put in place this summer will ready the Mall for full-blown construction of the ILC, set to begin in the fall, and other projects to start soon after, Dourlein said.

"We're doing all these so when the building construction starts we can hit the ground racing," he said.

During construction of the ILC, some building entrances along the Mall may be inaccessible, and pedestrians will be detoured to entrances along Fourth and Second streets.

The four projects to follow construction of the ILC include:

• The McKale Strength and Conditioning Facility and Heritage Hall, facilities built by donor funds that will add several weight rooms to the north side of McKale Center, including a hall showcasing the UA's athletic triumphs.
• A fifth-floor addition to the Main Library, which will add an additional 300,000 square feet of space.
• Memorial Student Union renovations, which will involve much new construction in addition to improvements on existing facilities, according to Dourlein.
• The Tucson Transit Center, a city project on the far east end of the Mall that will add restrooms and increased seats and shade to an existing bus stop.

   

The centerpiece of the UA's plan to offer centralized services to freshmen, the Instructional Learning Center, shed its previous name at Likins' suggestion.

"Integrated Instructional Facility seemed a very clumsy label and the acronym does raise questions," Likins said. "The new name began with a lighthearted comment - it was a casual suggestion, not a presidential edict."

Touted as a "park-like" setting, the underground facility will house a 24-hour computer facility, a centralized advising center and classes under the new general education requirements.

The $20.3 million center will help cement the freshman-year experience into a cohesive whole, said Michael Gottfredson, vice president for undergraduate education.

"We're going to try to cut through the ambiguity, cut through the red tape," he said. "We're seeking to provide a more cohesive and common first-year experience for students so they realize there is one place they can go."

ConstructionRestrictions

May-July

• Construction of temporary bus loop on East University Boulevard, east of North Cherry Avenue
• Construction of bike path from University Boulevard east of Cherry Avenue
• Construction of access drive near Steward Observatory
• Relocation of Sun Tran bus/UA Shuttle stop

   

June-September

• Utility work in Cherry Avenue between University Boulevard and East Fourth Street, to be completed in two phases:
  1. PHASE 1: Cherry Avenue will be closed between Fourth Street and the Lot 6093, south of the Visitor Center
  2. PHASE 2: Cherry Avenue and University Boulevard intersection will be inaccessible - vehicles should use North Campbell or North Park avenues

      

• Bicyclists can use new bicycle path east of Cherry Avenue
• Sun Tran buses will uses temporary bus loop across Mall and relocated bus stop east of Cherry Avenue

   

May-September

• Utility work along north side of the Mall, between the Administration building and Cherry Avenue
• East and westbound traffic on the north side of the Mall will be affected

   

Source: Facilities Management