Tuesday evening, University administrators met with students at a town hall meeting held in the Student Senate Chambers. Centennial Campus issues, including additional facilities, transportation and dining, were discussed. According to Leah Burton, director of Centennial Campus Partnership-Research, officials estimate that it will take 20 to 40 years to complete all projects, depending on the economic climate.
One of the biggest additions to Centennial Campus will be the Lonnie Poole Golf Course, according to Bob Fraser, associate vice chancellor of Centennial Campus Development. The golf course, which was funded entirely by gifts and operating revenues, will be the home of the men’s and women’s golf team. Grass planting is completed and play is expected to begin in the spring of 2009.
“The entire thing was a kudzu field before we started,” Fraser said. “It’s a flood plain so there’s not a whole lot else we can put there. We hired a professional golf course management company to manage the course for the first five years. At the end of the five years, we can hire the people ourselves if we like where it’s going.”
In addition to the golf course, several administrative and student buildings are in planning. Randy Lait, business officer of University Dining, discussed plans for the Alliance Center, which he hopes can emulate Cafe Carolina.
“The building is looking like 16,000 square feet split between two floors,” Lait said. “There is so much interest in take out because you can just get the things you want and go, but we want to use things that are fresh and sustainable. The book store will also be in the same building.”
Lait also discussed several other dining options across Centennial Campus, such as Port City Java coffee shops at the College of Textiles and Engineering Building II.
“We had a group complete an independent food service study in April of this year,” Lait said. “They projected our food service needs way until 2017, but it will require a lot of support for implementation.”
There are also plans for dining services that will be managed by groups and businesses that are not affiliated with the University, such as food service at the Alumni Center and the Lonnie Poole Golf Course.
Lait said there are currently no plans for a food service similar to the Atrium at the James. B. Hunt jr. Library.
“We don’t really want to go that route just because of some complaints of smells drifting up into D.H. Hill,” Lait said.
Fraser also said plans for a new apartment complex are in the works. The apartment will overlook the golf course and be available to all students except freshman.
“We’re looking at making it a 1,200 bed complex,” Fraser said. “The developer has proposed putting a parking deck in the middle of the complex and we’re pretty excited about that. We’ve been going around to other Universities to see what they’re doing. We’re looking to see what they did that was good and what was bad. That way we don’t make the same mistakes and try to improve on the design.”
Several transportation and parking options are also in the works. Partners Way is a proposed parking deck that would have 400 spaces. The Centennial Campus deck is in the design phase and is expected to have 800 spaces. There are also several parking options on the street.
“We’re also want to reduce the amount of traffic we have flowing to and from Centennial Campus,” Fraser said. “It’ll be a whole lot safer for everyone. We want buses going back and forth that will be open to the public. Currently, there are 13 buses per hour.”
Plans for express and limited-stop bussed are also in the works.