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Post by luhoopsfan on Jun 26, 2014 8:02:24 GMT -5
Drove past the armory building this morning and was wondering if we had acquired that piece of ground or not and then began wondering if the ground had broken on the new fitness center and/or business school yet (I didn't drive up through campus but it made me wonder)
Thanks to anyone who knows anything...
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Post by a10champion15 on Jun 26, 2014 11:29:03 GMT -5
Was up there last week giving a presentation. I took a walk around campus. They have yet to start the business school or the fitness center. I saw that they been doing sewage and infrastructure work on Belfield. However, when I was there it didn't seem like anything was going on. Not sure what the hold up is my guess would be it has something to do with permits or zoning. I always ask students what they heard but they informed me that they were working on belfield for a couple months but it had been a number of weeks any work has gone on down there.
A couple months ago I heard the following from a provost at an MBA event. They're waiting to get moving on the armory but they have settled. The first thing on their agenda is the fitness center and business school which he was very excited about. Did tell me something cool about the business school. The auditorium will be on the 6th floor having an all glass back with a view of the city skyline. A new parking lot will go in between Chew and Olney where those few houses are next to B and G which will replace the ones they are losing where the fitness center is going. They bought all the houses but one which is the closest home to the B and G parking lot. They also bought a few homes along wister after you pass Elkins near Explorers den. They attempted to buy the homes on Elkins but were unsuccessful. Also a new bridge will be built that goes up wister to the business school similar to the one in place that connects the townhouses and Benilde. They are still settling on what they are going to do with college hall. What they want is a chapel on campus that isn't in the basement. The idea as of now is to use convert the current campus store into a chapel. Also, there are major issues with McShain and the building is reaching its end as well. The idea is to move those in McShain to college hall and knock down McShain and expand the quad.
I also asked the burning question about an arena. I tried to hide my excitement about it. Unfortunately he didn't go into too much detail. However this is what he shared with me. They know an arena needs to be a priority especially with seeing how good the conference is now. He talked about how much they received due to the sweet sixteen and donations they received specifically for a new arena. He went on and on about how far the athletic department has come, how they thought Gola would be sufficient for many more years and that no one saw the transformation the A10 would make. The bright side is the arena is La Salle next major project. The chapel and the demolition of McShain will be small and most likely privately funded. The arena will be started sooner rather than later. They were very impressed with a lot of the designers works they have been working with. I know someone pointed out that the designer did Towson's arena not sure who exactly it was. Also noted that one of the designers did SJU and Drexel renovations as well. He said once the business school is complete we should begin construction shortly after. I wondered what the word shortly meant. The good news is they have started with planning for the project such as design,location and size which he didn't give me any hints on. Just that a couple of plans are on the table and being reviewed. What he did say they are really pushing for a west campus location and that it be very nice if they are able to convince some corporations to fund the rest of the arena to get the ball rolling faster. Obviously, every body hopes for that. He seemed to be very surprised how many donations the school received for a new arena which makes me believe a lot of funding is in place.
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Post by ck on Jun 26, 2014 11:36:16 GMT -5
Good reporting. An NCAA appearance (and preferably winning a game) could be
very helpful for a new arena, not just $$$ but renewed interest and donations.
And the La Salle frontline this year could be enough (combined with guard
transfers) to get an invitation---provided no screwups losing to inferior
teams this year.
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Post by coachd on Jun 26, 2014 12:16:13 GMT -5
Good reporting. An NCAA appearance (and preferably winning a game) could be very helpful for a new arena, not just $$$ but renewed interest and donations. And the La Salle frontline this year could be enough (combined with guard transfers) to get an invitation---provided no screwups losing to inferior teams this year. Yup, that is how it works. You lose to inferior teams, no matter how good you think you are, you don't get an invite. |
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Post by gymrat67 on Jul 18, 2014 10:45:50 GMT -5
Am I the only one puzzled by the unexplained delay in re-scheduling the postponed groundbreaking ceremony and start of construction on the new Business School Building and Fitness Center Projects ?
Is it even remotely conceivable that the BOT is currently re-thinking either the potential ultimate value to the University's growth and long-term financial viability of the new Business School building, as compared to possibly giving first priority to construction of a new basketball Arena / fitness center ?
Inquiring minds want to know.
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Post by jellybean on Jul 18, 2014 11:59:42 GMT -5
The ground breaking was delayed because of the city and L&I. (Does that surprise any one?) The money has been raised for both projects. The School of Business building is adding more square footage.
At times like this I wish we had a thumbs down button for posts.
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Post by a10champion15 on Aug 23, 2014 11:05:45 GMT -5
I heard some good news a couple weeks ago but was waiting for it to be confirmed. La Salle business school will start September 16. The reason for the hold up was due to some work on Belfield by PGW with irrigation and infrastructure which wasn't up to code with La Salle new green policy and also wouldn't be able to handle both the new business school and fitness center. That is officially done. Over the next few weeks they will be prepping the business schools site.
I also heard that the lot will be closed in the coming weeks for demolition in preparation for the new fitness center.
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