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Media Relations
Kansas State University
9 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-6415
media@k-state.edu

Information provided by K-State Media Relations, K-State's news service, may be reproduced without permission. The marks and names of Kansas State University are protected trademarks and may not be used in any commercial or private endeavor without the approval of the university.

Sources: Abe Fattaey, 785-532-6377, abepeaia@k-state.edu;
Mark Taussig, 785-532-6377, taus@k-state.edu; and Jack Carlson,
785-532-1722, jec@k-state.edu.
Photos available. Contact media@k-state.edu or 785-532-6415.
News release prepared by: Andy Badeker, 785-532-6415, abadeker@k-state.edu

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

SUMMER CONSTRUCTION AT K-STATE: McCAIN AUDITORIUM GETTING CIRCLE DRIVE, JARDINE CONCENTRATES ON PLAZA NEIGHBORHOOD

MANHATTAN -- Along with repairing buildings damaged by the June 11 tornado, new construction and renovation work also is taking place this summer at Kansas State University.

The moving and shaking north of McCain Auditorium might be the most obvious new construction on campus, but several other projects also are under way or on the cusp, including an equestrian education center and the continuing renewal of the Jardine Apartment Complex.

McCain is gaining a long-planned circle drive to ease access for patrons and performers, said Jack Carlson, project manager with K-State facilities planning.

"It's been in the works for 20 or 25 years," Carlson said. "It will allow parking, drop-offs, a waiting area, and bus and truck access through the site."

The need to accommodate semitrailers accounts for the project's size, but designers also took into account the eventual addition of a World War II memorial.

Carlson said while the memorial is not part of the current construction, it will become the focal point of the circle drive once funding is secured. McCain will be accessible by Aug. 15; landscaping and such items as benches and shelters should be in place by Nov. 15.

Completion of another highly visible project, the parking garage south of the K-State Student Union, has been delayed. A harsh winter and the wet weather since has hampered the contractor's ability to pour concrete, according to Abe Fattaey, university architect and director of facilities planning. Add to that a continuing shortage of laborers, and the finish date has been pushed back to April or May 2009.

"That's if we don't run into a very harsh winter again," Fattaey said.

Construction and renovation continues at Jardine's Plaza neighborhood, where the exterior of the tower-bedecked Building 8 is nearly complete, said Mark Taussig, interim associate director of facilities planning. The interior of the mixed-use structure should start in July; in addition to residences, it will house academic, meeting and office space.

At the same time, Building D, one of Jardine's original two-story brick apartments, will undergo major renovation to become a three-story set of townhouse-like apartments, Taussig said. In addition to the extra floor and all-new services, the building will gain a new exterior treatment and porches, patios and decks. "I'll think they'll be very attractive," he said.

Jardine also is the site for a restaurant, coffee shop, sports bar and convenience store to be installed in a new building east of Frith Community Center, Taussig said. Interior construction drawings are nearing completion, and work should begin by August.

Several other buildings are close to leaving the drawing board, Fattaey said, including the child care center west of the existing Hoeflin Stone House Child Care Center. "They're about 60-70 percent done on design," he said. Construction is likely to start in late August or early September.

An equestrian education center will break ground north of Kimball Avenue late this fall or early in spring 2009, Fattaey said. The first phase, a $5 million to $6 million undertaking, is to house the equestrian program's academic activities. Stables, barns and other structures will come later.

Starting in the next week or so, the new Kansas Artificial Breeding System Unit will take shape near U.S. Highway 24 and Barnes Road, while K-State's Swine Teaching and Research Center is replacing its aging barn.

Maintenance and renovation projects include the installation of elevators in Leasure Hall and reroofing at Calvin Hall and the Peters Recreation Complex, Fattaey said. Workers also are nearly finished upgrading the wiring of greenhouses at Throckmorton Hall.