While students and their academic projects may take a much-deserved break over the summer, campus construction projects just keep on rolling! 91福利社 has many current projects in the works, all designed to make campus a more innovative and welcoming place for new, current and prospective students alike.
Upgrades At Abney
Home to Trojan Basketball and Volleyball, Abney Athletic Center is the hub for indoor sports at 91福利社.
鈥淔or the last five years or so, we’ve kind of redone that Abney Athletic Center,鈥� said Vice President of Athletics Bert Epting. 鈥淭hat includes a new floor, new paint, new lights, and we just completed a new sound system.鈥�
Epting is thrilled about the renovations and believes they鈥檒l be a great addition for the volleyball team this fall and the basketball teams in the winter and spring.
Nature and Nurture
A great expansion to the meal options last year was Troy鈥檚 Food Truck, and this year, students will have the option of an additional food truck.
鈥淲e鈥檒l have another food truck stationed at the Athletic Campus this year,鈥� said Capital Projects Coordinator Tina Beers. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be part of our civilian outdoor eating area that’s opening up this fall. It will be right as you leave the facilities office that will actually be a different area for students to have food.鈥�
Beers is excited for students to have more variety in what food is available to them and thinks the location will be a great way to serve large portions of the student body.
鈥淚 think having another meal option out here will be great for athletes after practice as well as students in classes in the Athletic Campus buildings. It will also be closer to College Parke and Heritage Townhomes, so those students will be able to come here and not have to go all the way to campus if they’d like to,鈥� said Beers.
But food isn鈥檛 the only thing that鈥檚 being expanded over the summer.
鈥淎t the end of July, we’ll also start working on the Rocky River Nature Trail,鈥� said Beers. 鈥淲e’re doing extensions on the nature trail platforms. We have one phase one and phase two scheduled, so as long as phase one goes well, that will extend the viewing area for the classrooms as well as different camps and people in the community. It’s a really awesome project.鈥�
Building Expansions
Several buildings around campus are also receiving upgrades and expansions.
鈥淩ight now, we鈥檙e working on the College Parke Townhouses Phase Two, which will be open this fall for housing,鈥� said Beers.
Phase Two (aka College Parke West) is an additional space to the College Parke Townhouses located behind the existing units. It will offer 96 additional beds and more space to house upperclassmen.
鈥淲e also have some office renovations and reshuffling going on,鈥� said Beers. 鈥淲e are renovating Watkins lab 208 and clearing space for eight or so new offices. We鈥檝e just moved a lot of the offices for faculty and staff, especially with the four new offices we just got at Chiquola downtown.鈥�
The Athletic Campus
Since last year, the Athletic Campus has seen the greatest amount of growth and development.
鈥淲e finished our beautiful track and field spaces about a year ago,鈥� said Epting. 鈥淪ince then, we鈥檝e hosted six track meets and between 5,000-8,000 student-athletes, so that鈥檚 pretty neat.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檝e also finished building out our strength and conditioning space, which has 10,000 square feet of turf and 10,000 square feet of space for strength and conditioning equipment.鈥�
The Future of Trojan Football
However, the central focus of project development this summer is the Trojan Football Operation Center.
鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting to see it transform day-by-day,鈥� said Beers. 鈥淚t’s just a huge impact, both to the school as well as the community. And it’s a beauty.鈥�
The Operation Center will function as a multi-purpose facility. It鈥檚 43,622 square feet and will contain football offices, media rooms and locker rooms for home and visiting teams for both football and softball. It will also have new spaces for strength and conditioning, athletic training, sports medicine as well as classrooms.
鈥淚t’ll be done sometime in early August,鈥� said Epting. 鈥淎nd then we’ll start fully utilizing those spaces probably sometime in September. We鈥檙e really excited about having more space and everything this center will offer.鈥�
Epting believes that football will have a great impact on 91福利社 and serve to bring the community together like never before.
鈥淵ou think about the 125 men that will be here competing and you think about the coaches and the families and about Saturdays in the fall and being able to go to a Trojan football game. I think it really will bring a different feel for our entire university. I think you have more students who want to come because we have football.鈥�
There are lots of projects to keep up with at Anderson, but the work never stops. The University is always changing and always improving, doing its best to provide for its ever-growing student body.
鈥淯ltimately, we’re just putting one foot in front of the other,鈥� said Epting. 鈥淲e’re trying to do the best we can with what God gives us and our resources and those who come alongside us.鈥�