More than 60 students, faculty and members of the community left their mark on the final steel beam installed in the new expansion to the Carmichael Gymnasium Friday morning.
The beam signing took place at 10 a.m. at the construction site between the current Carmichael facilities and the intramural fields.
“The people who came out [Saturday] to sign the beam are the people who are paying for this new building,” Dawn Sanner, director of facilities and operations at the Carmichael Complex, said. “We wanted them to be able to leave their mark on something they paid for.”
According to Sanner, the new expansion to Carmichael began in April and is on schedule for completion on Aug. 12, 2007. The facilities, she said, will be ready for the start of the fall semester 2007.
“We have been waiting for this for a long time,” Ines Palacios, a graduate student in parks, recreation and tourism management, said. “It is important to us to make this a part of the community by allowing community members to sign this beam.”
In addition to signing the beam itself, participants were asked to sign two large poster boards that will be framed and placed in the new building upon completion.
The new, expanded facility will house fitness rooms and outdoor-equipment storage. The building will be a total of 10,500 square feet and will include a cardiovascular room on the third floor and a juice bar on the first floor.
“Everybody is going to benefit from this new building,” Palacios said. “Right now after about 5 or 6:00 [p.m., the gym] gets really crowded. We need more space.”
The new facilities cost approximately $12.1 million. Funding for the complex is a combination of student fees and membership contributions.
Carmichael facilities personnel organized the beam’s signing with support from the Carmichael Facilities Board of Directors, a group of students that represents the users of the gym.
“This beam signing makes people feel like they’re part of what’s going on. They have a sense of belonging and pride for the campus,” Carolyn Antoniono, president of the Board of Directors and a junior in mechanical engineering, said. “If they feel part of something they are more likely to use it and enjoy it.”
