The Facts:

 The Talley Student Center’s renovations should be completed in late 2014, and will take approximately $120 million to complete. Student facilities fees will be raised and capped no more than $290 a year starting in 2014.

Our Opinion:

 If the University Student Center’s Board of Directors sticks to their budget and timeline, the current plan for Talley Student Center is feasible and achievable.  With our money in their hands, sticking to their plan is of the upmost importance.

Beginning this summer, Talley Student Center will undergo a major renovation. The Talley project is projected to take a little over three years to complete, and the construction should end late in 2014.  Revenue to fund these projects comes partially from student fees. Students began paying Talley facilities fees in last Fall, with an amount of less than $90 per year, which included the construction and use of the Atrium. When the new Student Center opens in 2014, students face a facilities fee capped at $290 per year.

With large construction projects, is it easy to go off track. Architects sometimes revise their plans due to unforeseen circumstances or changing interests. The problem with straying from the plan is that the budget is consequentially affected—most often negatively. It is the responsibility of the Student Center’s Board of Directors to create a budget and stick to it, so that students’ money does not go to waste.

For example, the Atrium renovations were and still are a portion of the Talley Project, and are currently on track and on budget. If the Student Center’s renovation follows the same path as the Atrium’s, the project’s result would be quite successful. However, there are always concerns in large construction projects, particularly with gaining back some of the revenue lost from the construction.

Any business endeavor must be profitable to succeed. Centennial Campus’ extensive construction project faced only one obstacle—revenue created from its development. There are plans to use Centennial Campus as a conference center, and to use the buildings to create jobs and support causes that government agencies do not.  There is also a plan for a golf course facility for recreation and education, which would generate revenue from the public as well as from students.  

As the Talley Student Center’s construction hasn’t yet begun, the Board of Directors would benefit from brainstorming ways that the center could gain back revenue lost for its construction, other than a perpetual hike to student fees. These plans should be conceptualized as closely to the start of construction as possible.

Many students initially exhibited some animosity toward the budget issues and the Talley construction project. If the Board of Directors does exceed the budget, these feelings of bitterness will only grow. With most N.C. State students away for the summer, we have left our money and our hopes for Talley in the hands of the Board of Directors and the building company. This project needs to go according to plan. Stick to the budget and everyone will benefit.