Summer months set stage for campus construction

With students away from campus, the summer months leave campus open to new residents — construction workers.

Sid Stone, director of construction management, said summer is the most common time for campus construction, and typical projects often include renovating dorms and ensuring that buildings are up to fire safety codes.

He said summer road work is also typical, such as the water main installation project on Cameron Avenue that has kept the road closed for several weeks.

Masaya Konishi, the facilities architectural supervisor, said the project is slated to be finished by the first day of classes.

Associate Director of Construction Management Dana Leeson said there are currently 12 projects underway at UNC — including the development of the Biomedical Research Imaging Center, the University’s newest building — totaling about $200 million in construction costs.

Konishi said the University is also upgrading the elevators in Davis Library, as well as reconfiguring the library to include the Odum Institute previously housed in Manning Hall.

Construction of the imaging center began in 2009, and Konishi said he hopes it will be complete by April 2014.

The construction cost of that building alone is about $162 million, Leeson said.

The center is one of more than 40 major construction projects in the last 12 years.

“The General Administration for the university system, which is all … campuses, had requested money to expand the university system, so the state issued a bond,” Leeson said.

Konishi said UNC received about $515 million from that bond in 2000.

This, combined with efforts from the University to raise more than $1.7 billion, allowed for construction of square footage equivalent to the size of Wake Forest University’s campus during the 2000-10 period, Leeson said.

It was a 6-million-square-foot expansion, and buildings constructed during that period include the FedEx Global Education Center, Boshamer Stadium and the Cobb Parking Deck.

The money was also used to complete major renovations to Memorial Hall and the Student Union.

Konishi said future University projects include renovations in several buildings on campus, including Hill Hall, Howell Hall and the Mary Ellen Jones Building.

Contact the desk editor at university@dailytarheel.com.