The $16.5 million project to renovate the Frank Thompson Building is continuing and expected to be completed by Feb. 20, 2009, according to Alex Miller, associate vice chancellor for arts programs.

John McIlwee, director of Thompson Theater, said the theater will need “a minimum of six months to go operational after the construction is completed.”

The grand opening ceremony will not occur until students return next fall, he said.

“What we’re hoping for, is that students will react as they did before, but with a different atmosphere and better technology,” McIlwee said.

Before renovations, Miller said windows were blacked out or broken in some cases, so the building was renovated with natural lighting in mind.

The costume shop is naturally lit, but for areas where that is not possible, mood lighting will be used to set the mood for a current production, he said.

According to Miller, one of the main problems with the old building, the lack of central heat and air conditioning, has been fixed.

“We’ve devoted a lot of space to air-handling units,” he said. “The units themselves have even been placed on springs to reduce noise.”

Workers removed the running track that encircled the second floor, Miller said, leaving behind a “brand new second floor.”

“We’ve used every square inch we had available,” he said.

The main theater has been rotated, and Miller said the previous setup of connected theaters was “just crazy.”

The new design will have two privately-funded theaters, and the studio theater will be named the Kennedy-McIlwee Theater, he said.

Student fees have provided for about 80 percent of the project, and Miller said “most of the private donors were [N.C. State] graduates.

Ben Benson, a University alumnus, designed the new building, he said.

The windows facing Jenson Street on the craft floor will be display cases to display crafts and artwork created by students, according to Miller.

“Now, each of these [art] studios are self-contained, something that they weren’t before,” he said. “We’ve tried to anticipate everything, but we are prepared for the unexpected.”

Workers have replaced the old theater seats, “sometimes called the 45-minute chairs, because of their uncomfortable nature,” Miller said.

The Kennedy-McIlwee Theater will seat 102 people and the now-unnamed theater will seat 196.

Casey Watkins, a senior in arts application, said the upgrades are going to be a big improvement.

“All the students are excited,” Watkins said.