University of Arkansas Projects

[zman9810]

Yeah, maybe it wasn't official but I posted something about it a while back. They said they wanted a parking deck on the north side of campus because that's where most of the students enter the campus. Perhaps Harmon is too far away and too inconvenient that students aren't wanting to use it. Although price could have something to do with it as well. I heard mention of a skybridge but I guess I assumed it was going to be connected to whatever they're building east of it.

Yes, the possiblity of a new deck was mentioned but the actual approval, size and cost and completion date was announced Saturday. Actual construction should start next summer with a completion date of Jan. 2010. Parking fees will increase around 5% yearly to help pay for it and people are asking if it is fair that students who will be gone before it is completed should have to pay that additional money.

The new deck will also have retail space on the ground floor.

[Mith242]

Yes, the possiblity of a new deck was mentioned but the actual approval, size and cost and completion date was announced Saturday. Actual construction should start next summer with a completion date of Jan. 2010. Parking fees will increase around 5% yearly to help pay for it and people are asking if it is fair that students who will be gone before it is completed should have to pay that additional money.

The new deck will also have retail space on the ground floor.

Oh yeah I had forgotten about the retail space. But I guess they haven't mentioned the exact location or how many levels it will be have they? Hopefully they'll have it east of the Quad near the edge of campus and it will be tall enough to be above the trees. Then I can get some views northward for taking pics.

[strmchsr77]

If this one is going to be 1500 spaces, how big is the Harmon deck? I was thinking 1200 but that was just a guess and it is 9 stories. Since this new one does not sit on a steep hill like the other one, I would guess that it will not be as many levels.

[cowbreath]

Oh yeah I had forgotten about the retail space. But I guess they haven't mentioned the exact location or how many levels it will be have they? Hopefully they'll have it east of the Quad near the edge of campus and it will be tall enough to be above the trees. Then I can get some views northward for taking pics.

Yeah I was hoping they would build it near the new dorms kind of in the middle of the block (between Poultry building and dorms). Then they started putting up Phase 2 of Maple Hill where I thought it would make best sense. Of course parking close to the dorms for the students may not be an administrative priority, although it should be for logistical purposes.

[zman9810]

Oh yeah I had forgotten about the retail space. But I guess they haven't mentioned the exact location or how many levels it will be have they? Hopefully they'll have it east of the Quad near the edge of campus and it will be tall enough to be above the trees. Then I can get some views northward for taking pics.

Yes, they do have a definite location. It will be east of Garland between Cleveland and Douglas, where the gravel lots are now. According to MegaParking, the Harmon Ave. deck has 2149 spaces. Just driving by both sites the new deck seems to have more space tp spread out so I would guess it will have fewer levels with more spaces on each one. It just depends on how it's designed. It would be nice if was diguised better than the Harmon Ave. deck- it's not the most attractive building and this new one will be very visible.

[strmchsr77]

Yes, they do have a definite location. It will be east of Garland between Cleveland and Douglas, where the gravel lots are now. According to MegaParking, the Harmon Ave. deck has 2149 spaces. Just driving by both sites the new deck seems to have more space tp spread out so I would guess it will have fewer levels with more spaces on each one. It just depends on how it's designed. It would be nice if was diguised better than the Harmon Ave. deck- it's not the most attractive building and this new one will be very visible.

Thanks for the info zman. I had no idea that the Harmon deck was that big. I would have guessed less than 1500 spaces.

[thewizard16]

Thanks for the info zman. I had no idea that the Harmon deck was that big. I would have guessed less than 1500 spaces.

No, it's monstrous, the largest in Arkansas at least when it was built, and that's why people are pretty annoyed by this new deck. The UofA paid for a parking plan before they built Harmon to determine their need for parking by 2010-20 or so provided they met their growth goals, and got a parking deck size. They added two full levels to it, and that's what Harmon was. So, by their plan, there'll be no probability of filling probably half of either deck in the next 5-10 years, and they wouldn't be profitable for 31 years, providing every spot was filled for each year. It's a financial disaster and the brunt of the cost will be taken on by students who were fine, or at least not angry, with the current situation. Housing is doing the same things with their new ultra-expensive dorms that can't be profitable so they raise rates on the old buildings that they haven't improved in years. Some aspects of the University are in serious trouble if they continue in their current course of raising costs beyond competitive levels while leaving the majority of students in sub-standard conditions at exorbinant prices.

[cowbreath]

Construction on "Green" Student Apartments Begin - on southeast edge of campus on duncan avenue...I'm thinking near the parking deck?

[thewizard16]

Construction on "Green" Student Apartments Begin - on southeast edge of campus on duncan avenue...I'm thinking near the parking deck?

Correct. Right across from the deck where they've been bulldozing all those houses this year.

[zman9810]

Yeah, maybe it wasn't official but I posted something about it a while back. They said they wanted a parking deck on the north side of campus because that's where most of the students enter the campus. Perhaps Harmon is too far away and too inconvenient that students aren't wanting to use it. Although price could have something to do with it as well. I heard mention of a skybridge but I guess I assumed it was going to be connected to whatever they're building east of it.

I went and scoped out where that skybridge is slated to be and can't quite figure out how it's going to be situated. The news reports I read said it would be from the mid-level of the Harmon Ave. parking garage and crossing Duncan to a parking lot that is on grade with Dickson. That would be the parking lot west of the building housing KUAF. Between the two locations is a large number of aerial utility lines of which some are very high voltage electrical lines and the house that strmchsr mentioned is close to the path also. I guess they will have to bury the lines (an expensive job) and build it at a sharp angle from the middle of the north side to miss the house. It'll be a very large, high and visible project- be interesting to see how it turns out. It's projected to cost between $1.8 million to $2 million.

[Mith242]

Interesting article, nice to see the university jumping on board with something like this. If Fayetteville wants to be the 'center ' of environmental sustainability then the university will have to be a part of it. Which would also mean it would be best if they start trying to adopt some greener methods. For some reason I guess I thought they were going to do something else with that space than apartments.

[Mith242]

I went and scoped out where that skybridge is slated to be and can't quite figure out how it's going to be situated. The news reports I read said it would be from the mid-level of the Harmon Ave. parking garage and crossing Duncan to a parking lot that is on grade with Dickson. That would be the parking lot west of the building housing KUAF. Between the two locations is a large number of aerial utility lines of which some are very high voltage electrical lines and the house that strmchsr mentioned is close to the path also. I guess they will have to bury the lines (an expensive job) and build it at a sharp angle from the middle of the north side to miss the house. It'll be a very large, high and visible project- be interesting to see how it turns out. It's projected to cost between $1.8 million to $2 million.

Yeah I'm still not sure where they're going with it. Although it apparently won't be what I was expecting. For some reason I had gotten the impression they were going to do something else with that land across the street from the the parking deck. So the skybridge will run from the corner of the parking deck to the northeast to that parking lot? I was also curious did they mention which level it would be connected to? Seems like from the west (is that angled road now Harmon Ave) is level 4. I wonder if they'll make the skybridge connected to that level if it's considered the 'main' level in a sense.

[thewizard16]

Yeah I'm still not sure where they're going with it. Although it apparently won't be what I was expecting. For some reason I had gotten the impression they were going to do something else with that land across the street from the the parking deck. So the skybridge will run from the corner of the parking deck to the northeast to that parking lot? I was also curious did they mention which level it would be connected to? Seems like from the west (is that angled road now Harmon Ave) is level 4. I wonder if they'll make the skybridge connected to that level if it's considered the 'main' level in a sense.

I can't find anyone around here that has a clue how it's going to be built. I'd think the 4th level would be about right for a Dickson level bridge, and it is the main level in the sense of that little convenience store and the parking offices, as well as being the main street level on that side of the deck, but I don't know how they'll build it without moving a few things.

[cocothief]

Those apartments are exciting.

Mostly older students I would suspect (of drinking age).

Should be a boon to west Dickson. 200 new residents. Better they live there within walking distance of the bars than be spread out to the north and west of campus.

[Mith242]

I can't find anyone around here that has a clue how it's going to be built. I'd think the 4th level would be about right for a Dickson level bridge, and it is the main level in the sense of that little convenience store and the parking offices, as well as being the main street level on that side of the deck, but I don't know how they'll build it without moving a few things.

Yeah and the university doesn't really go out and put out their renderings. Except for at the construction site itself.

[zman9810]

Yeah I'm still not sure where they're going with it. Although it apparently won't be what I was expecting. For some reason I had gotten the impression they were going to do something else with that land across the street from the the parking deck. So the skybridge will run from the corner of the parking deck to the northeast to that parking lot? I was also curious did they mention which level it would be connected to? Seems like from the west (is that angled road now Harmon Ave) is level 4. I wonder if they'll make the skybridge connected to that level if it's considered the 'main' level in a sense.

The reports I read only said it would extend form the mid-level of the deck. Harmon Ave. and the retail/office space iare on the 6th level and it is higher than the parking lot on Dickson St., so iI imagine the 4th level would be about right. They certainly wouldn't want it sloping as that would defeat the purpose of building it (make a great slide in snowy weather, though )

[Mith242]

The reports I read only said it would extend form the mid-level of the deck. Harmon Ave. and the retail/office space iare on the 6th level and it is higher than the parking lot on Dickson St., so iI imagine the 4th level would be about right. They certainly wouldn't want it sloping as that would defeat the purpose of building it (make a great slide in snowy weather, though )

Oh yeah, I hadn't even considered if it was going to be a covered skybridge. Otherwise yeah it might be fun trying to keep it from being icy in the winter.

[zman9810]

The University celebrated the groundbreaking for a new softball field Friday. It will be located just south of Bud Walton Arena where the Carlson Terrace Apartments were. The Lady Razorback softball team has been using the old George Cole baseball field for years and this will bring the softball facilities up to par with the peer schools in the SEC. Actually..from looking at the renderings I think it will surpass what any other school has. It will be named Bogle Park for the Bogle family that has helped the University a great deal in the past. Oh yeah- it will have 1,200 chair back seats, which for anyone who has sat on the aluminum bleachers at the other site will be a welcome sight.

[Mith242]

Thanks for the info. It will be nice to see the women get some top notch facilities as well.

[Mith242]

Work is progressing on the development near the big parking deck. I believe I read somewhere (maybe here on UP) that the university was trying a more 'green' approach to the construction. Anyway here's a pano shot of the site. Sorry about the size, it had been larger but I guess the site I uploaded it to shrunk it down. I could be wrong but I was thinking these were going to be dorms. Hey the lucky students on the top floor to the back of the building get a view of the Evergreen Cemetery.

[thewizard16]

Work is progressing on the development near the big parking deck. I believe I read somewhere (maybe here on UP) that the university was trying a more 'green' approach to the construction. Anyway here's a pano shot of the site. Sorry about the size, it had been larger but I guess the site I uploaded it to shrunk it down. I could be wrong but I was thinking these were going to be dorms. Hey the lucky students on the top floor to the back of the building get a view of the Evergreen Cemetery.

Yes, they will be dorms of a sort. It's the first attempt by the University in years to build student apartments, and I think the complaints made about tearing down Carlson Terrace helped lead to the construction of these. Of course, they're much, much more expensive than the old Carlson Terrace was, and aren't going to fill the same niche at all, but that never seemed to come up.

There's some information abotu them here, http://housing.uark.edu/thehalls/dunc/ and a rendering from that site:

[Mith242]

Yes, they will be dorms of a sort. It's the first attempt by the University in years to build student apartments, and I think the complaints made about tearing down Carlson Terrace helped lead to the construction of these. Of course, they're much, much more expensive than the old Carlson Terrace was, and aren't going to fill the same niche at all, but that never seemed to come up.

There's some information abotu them here, http://housing.uark.edu/thehalls/dunc/ and a rendering from that site:

Thanks for the added info.

[thewizard16]

Thanks for the added info.

No problem. I accumulate quite a bit of random information.

[cocothief]

New HPER complex discussed:

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2008/02/...808fzuahper.txt

I have thought for a while that this would be upcoming soon.

[Mith242]

New HPER complex discussed:

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2008/02/...808fzuahper.txt

I have thought for a while that this would be upcoming soon.

Yeah sounds like they won't to spend the money to built a really great facility. Sounds like they'll building something somewhere on the outskirts of the campus. Not sure what they'll do with the current building. Maybe keep some of the facilities there and move everything else in the new building.