AUBURN, Ala. -- Several new campus projects have been announced since the board of trustees meeting that took place on Friday, February 15.
One project has a focus on campus parking, an ongoing issue on campus for Auburn students and faculty. Auburn President Steven Leath, shared with trustees the burden that parking bears on all of those who go in and out of campus every day.
"We have a total enrollment of 30,440 students that come to campus, 84 percent of them living off-campus, so they need some mode of transportation to the institution. We have 5,100 employees, 49 percent of which live outside of a five mile radius of campus," said the university's Chief Financial Officer Kelli Shomaker, who set the scene for trustee members, according to OANews. "So, for those 30,000 students and 5,000 employees, we provide right now an existing infrastructure of 13,000 parking spots."
The board approved projects for parking and are beginning to look for engineers for the new campus parking expansions. Some of these plans are set to be complete before the fall semester.
Another project coming to campus is the creation of a new academic and laboratory classroom, or ACLC.
This project, which will break ground this spring, will include a 151,000 sq. foot academic classroom and laboratory complex and a 48,000 sq. foot, three-story dining hall.
The new buildings in this project are going to be built where Parker Hall and Allison Laboratory currently rest on Auburn's campus.
"These new buildings reflect Auburn's strategic investment in elevating our teaching and learning by creating facilities that promote academic success and foster student engagement," said Bill Hardgrave, provost and senior vice president of academic affairs for Auburn, according to the university's website.
The construction of the ACLC building is projected to be complete by the summer of 2021, while construction of the dining complex is set to be complete by fall of 2020.
Other projects that are beginning to take flight include a culinary science center, a testing laboratory and a new college of education building.
