OU Projects

[soonerfan_in_okc]

In an attempt to get back on topic, I was on campus last weekend and checked out the construction on the South Oval. I really like the idea of making it pedestrian only. Gaylord Hall is a nice addition and the remake of Gould hall is spectacular. The new facade on Collings Hall is an improvement, but nothing special. I'm ready for a remake of Gittinger and Kaufman, those are two of the ugliest buildings on campus. Overall I like what they've done on the South Oval, but it wouldn't take much to improve it because most of those buildings were hideous.

They are both getting 5million dollar renovations actually. Just approved by the BOR. or I think that's what this article says. Talks about it on the 2nd page.

Professor honored, shelters discussed » University » The Norman Transcript

[Pete]

Yep!

Great news:

· Gittinger Hall renovation and improvements, $5 million

· Kaufman Hall renovations and improvements, $5 million

[BG918]

And after those buildings are renovated then they can address GL Cross. OU needs a modern life sciences building on campus. I know they've discussed building a new facility on the south campus but I think moving any classes down there is a bad idea. Research is fine and belongs there, and meteorology because of the NWC.

After that I would hope Dale would be the next target for a major reconstruction. It's already too small for the number of students and classes at peak times. They could easily tear down Copeland Hall and expand the building to the north. This would also be a good place for a future parking garage on the surface lot along Elm.

[KayneMo]

^This semester in my 4th year architecture studio, my class was divided into two sections that are doing two different projects. The section I'm not in are doing parking garages to go in place of the parking lot at Elm and Lindsey, varying from around 5-8 stories tall, with retail and office space fronting Elm and as tall as the garage as well. Some pretty cool designs they are doing!

[BG918]

KayneMO, if you could post some pictures that would be awesome. I'm an OU architecture grad and wish I could see the projects on display in the gallery , but you can't get into Gould without a card, unless that's recently changed.

[Geographer]

KayneMO, if you could post some pictures that would be awesome. I'm an OU architecture grad and wish I could see the projects on display in the gallery , but you can't get into Gould without a card, unless that's recently changed.

You can get into Gould on weekdays at normal hours during the day. It's locked late at night and on the weekends.

[YO MUDA]

OU has finally approved funding that would completely rebuild Imhoff road between Chautauqua and Jenkins.
They said work would start in April and end this next August.
This stretch of road has been in poor condition for a long time.
I have been hearing for the last 15 years that they are going to tie in Imhoff with Constitution and do away with one of the signal lights. Makes sence after the demolished the 100 block of Krattlli apartments.

[G.Walker]

Five Partners Place, OU Research Park:

[Eddie1]

Beautiful building.

[YO MUDA]

Looks taller in person.

[dankrutka]

Dean Blevins (take it with a grain of salt) says OU is expanding the stadium by bowling it in and replacing the press box to the tune of $350-400 million (!!!!!): EXCLUSIVE: OU Set To Announce Football Stadium Expansion - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |

[Pete]

^

Nothing on the Regent's agenda about the stadium -- it was just released.


They did add the following to the list of capital projects:


29 Student Housing Expansion, Residential Colleges: The proposed project implements the first phase of a master plan to upgrade the University’s aging housing facilities. The proposed new facilities will house approximately 600 students in a mix of room, suite, and semi-suite configurations. The project will include dining, faculty housing, student lounge areas, and other organizational and academic amenities utilizing the “Residential College” community model. The project will expand OU's existing housing options and attract more upperclassmen to on-campus housing by offering unique and highly attractive academic and social opportunities. Further, expansion of student housing facilities will help meet current market demand by reducing density in existing residence halls and adding resident advisor rooms and community spaces; and will address the significant demand for on-campus apartment beds among single upper-division and graduate students. The budget for the project is $100,000,000 with funding identified from private sources and bond proceeds.

30 Physics and Astronomy Facilities: The proposed project will provide new research facilities for the Department of Physics and Astronomy to replace obsolete laboratories and laboratory support spaces within Nielsen Hall. The project will include state-of-the-art National Institute of Standards and Technology standard research laboratories to support further current and future research efforts. The facility will also provide new office space and may include spaces for science display and classrooms. The preliminary budget is $20,000,000 with funding from private sources and bond proceeds.

31 Kaufman Hall and Gittinger Hall Improvements: The academic buildings that house the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Linguistics and the Department English need exterior improvements to complement the established University of Oklahoma architectural vernacular. In addition, interior renovations are needed to create and improve student and faculty common areas for both departments. Construction projects may be developed utilizing a phased approach. The estimated total project cost is approximately $10,000,000, with funding from private sources and bond proceeds.

32 Cate Center #2 Renovation: The Cate Center #2 project will convert this facility from residential to academic use. The renovated facility will house classrooms, faculty and staff offices, conference rooms, and other support spaces. The project will address life safety and code issues including accessibility, emergency egress, and replacement of HVAC and plumbing systems. An elevator will be added, new energy-efficient windows will be installed, and the building’s roof will be replaced. The estimated project cost is $8,000,000, with funding from bond proceeds.

34 Stubbeman Place Improvements: This two-story, multi-tenant building located on the west edge of OU’s main campus near the residence halls is currently occupied predominantly by retail enterprises. Planned improvements include roof replacement with removal of the lower slope of the mansard roof, reconfiguring and landscaping the parking lot, installation of an irrigation system, burying utilities, and moving lower level storefronts on the east side to the front edge of the building. The estimated total project budget is $3,500,000, with funding from bond proceeds.

36 Parking Expansion (Garages): New structured parking will be constructed to replace parking spaces lost to expansion of student housing. It is anticipated that approximately 1,000 spaces could be constructed. The estimated total project cost is $17,000,000, to be funded from bond proceeds.

50 Bizzell Memorial Library Master Plan Project(s): The Bizzell Memorial Library Master Plan Study has developed a series of phased projects to bring the library to the forefront as a crossroads leader for intellectual and research study at the University of Oklahoma and the world community at large. A phased renovation of the entire 336,000 square foot facility will be required to achieve the desired mix of collaborative, research, reading, seminar, technology and collection storage spaces, with special attention given to preserve the National Historic Landmark status of the original 1928 building. The project will replace and update the facility’s major mechanical, electrical and data systems to support the new and expanded programs and to address the some deferred maintenance issues with the building’s envelope. The estimated total project cost is $70,000,000.

[BG918]

29 Student Housing Expansion, Residential Colleges: The proposed project implements the first phase of a master plan to upgrade the University’s aging housing facilities. The proposed new facilities will house approximately 600 students in a mix of room, suite, and semi-suite configurations. The project will include dining, faculty housing, student lounge areas, and other organizational and academic amenities utilizing the “Residential College” community model. The project will expand OU's existing housing options and attract more upperclassmen to on-campus housing by offering unique and highly attractive academic and social opportunities. Further, expansion of student housing facilities will help meet current market demand by reducing density in existing residence halls and adding resident advisor rooms and community spaces; and will address the significant demand for on-campus apartment beds among single upper-division and graduate students. The budget for the project is $100,000,000 with funding identified from private sources and bond proceeds.

I wonder if the parking lots west of Headington Hall would be where they would start with this expansion, in the same style? I've always thought they should eventually just replace Cate, and that the current upgrades and conversion to offices/classrooms are more of a temporary fix until they have the funding to build additional residence halls in their place.

[Pete]

^

I'm pretty sure that's where the new housing will go.

[LocoAko]

^

I'm pretty sure that's where the new housing will go.

Article about the residential housing: Boren wants "residential college" housing options for OU students » New and Developing » The Norman Transcript

[Plutonic Panda]

Planning For OU Tornado Shelters Nears Completion - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |

[bombermwc]

Glad to see Kauffman and Gittinger getting something. They've sort of been left out of the renovation wagon for far too long.

[HangryHippo]

Pete, in regards to the new housing fronting Lindsey St, have you heard about a timeline for those residential colleges? Since the funding has been identified, does that mean work will start on those within a year?

[Pete]

Pete, in regards to the new housing fronting Lindsey St, have you heard about a timeline for those residential colleges? Since the funding has been identified, does that mean work will start on those within a year?

I don't know.

The university issued an official press release about this just 3 days ago so you would think they would be getting started soon.

I'm looking forward to seeing the renderings. I'm sure it/they will be similar to Headinton Hall, but probably not as tall.

[HangryHippo]

I don't know.

The university issued an official press release about this just 3 days ago so you would think they would be getting started soon.

I'm looking forward to seeing the renderings. I'm sure it/they will be similar to Headinton Hall, but probably not as tall.

It seems odd to me that they were obviously considering this site on Lindsey long before now, yet they built that new steam and chilled water plant right behind where these new colleges will go. That will be a lame view.

[Pete]

^

It had to go somewhere close so it can efficiently distribute to all the big buildings on campus.

It's really in the middle of that block and I'm sure it will eventually be surrounded on all sides by new development.

In the near future, it will be far less noticeable.

[BG918]

The aquatics center expansion at the Huffman included the energy plant in its plans. I don't know the current status of that project but it was proposed as an outdoor pool with lazy river and water slides on the north side of Huffman and immediately east of the CUP to Jenkins with an indoor pool built just to the south onto the east side of Huffman. So these new residence halls will basically surround the Huffman and future aquatics center.

[bombermwc]

Ugh, these apartment style residential spaces are so inefficient! I realize that's what everyone is going with these days, but I wish more people would build UP instead of out. You can still have the apartment style and not be stuck with a 3 story building....BLEH! In an area where land is a premium, and access to campus is a HUGE deal, I just don't understand the sprawling complex methodology.

OCU's newest residential hall was a great example on a smaller scale (although it had the benefit of being built into a hill). parking garage below, residential above. It's only 4 floors, but they chose to build that way instead of the way Cokesbury was built across the street in the now-common suburban apartment complex style.

Sometimes I feel like OU suffers from having too much open space on its hands...but it always seems to be in the wrong place.

[HangryHippo]

Ugh, these apartment style residential spaces are so inefficient! I realize that's what everyone is going with these days, but I wish more people would build UP instead of out. You can still have the apartment style and not be stuck with a 3 story building....BLEH! In an area where land is a premium, and access to campus is a HUGE deal, I just don't understand the sprawling complex methodology.

OCU's newest residential hall was a great example on a smaller scale (although it had the benefit of being built into a hill). parking garage below, residential above. It's only 4 floors, but they chose to build that way instead of the way Cokesbury was built across the street in the now-common suburban apartment complex style.

Sometimes I feel like OU suffers from having too much open space on its hands...but it always seems to be in the wrong place.

Just out of curiosity, have you seen renderings or anything that shows it will be 3 stories?

[bombermwc]

I don't mean that the OU ones will be 3 floors, but 5 or 6 is still too short for me. When they're building things to replace the units at the towers, anything short of a new tower is going to make use of the land more poorly. It's the out vs. up thing that bugs me. OSU did the same thing when they dozed Kerr/Drummon and Willham. The sheer extra cost of exteriors is HUGE for that many small structures in comparison. Think about the number of roofs to shingle compared to a single tower's. There's no reason an apartment floor deck can't be put into a tower. Heck, it's done every day with residential towers all over the world. But it does mean they have to raise a lot more money for a larger grand project. These dinky little ones can go in more cheaply for sure. But the long-term costs don't seem good to me.

Norman is in no short supply of this same type of structure, so I also don't see the point in OU getting in the game. Places like Traditions have been around for 20 years as student-oriented living with shuttle busses and the like. With converting some of the oldest residential halls to classroom space with this new plan is great (had a cousin in one of those about 5 years ago...BLEH!...way worse than the towers), but right now those butts are just going out to those sprawled apartments further away from campus. I really just wish they were doing more to compact the campus down more to make it more walkable. The closer you live to the class, the easier it is to walk. Instead, OU seems to be supporting the idea of a localized commuter with all those dang shuttles.