Officials make plans for business building
Published: Sunday, November 15, 2009
Updated: Sunday, November 15, 2009
Plans are being made for the Rawls College of Business Administration building, including redistribution of class spaces and renovation of the building, as the university builds a new building for the college.
“It’s going to be turned into a general-purpose building,” said Allen McInnes, dean of the college. “First though it is going to need some revamping such as new health and safety features, adding water sprinklers, upgraded restrooms and getting rid of the asbestos.”
To achieve the goal of 40,000 students by 2020, Tech will need to have more classrooms available and the conversion of the building to a general purpose space will start Tech in the right direction, he said.
The remodeling of the building will cost $25 million and will take several years, McInnes said. The plan is to work on one floor at a time as to not disrupt classes.
The funding for both the remodeling of the current Business Administration building and for the construction of the new building have already been raised, he said. The money has come from sources such as Tech alumni, revenue bonds, student fees and local businesses such as PlainsCapital Bank.
However, money still is being raised through naming opportunities for the new building, according to the business college Web site, which allows individuals and businesses to have a portion of the building named after them for making a contribution of at least $50,000 to the school.
“All the classrooms have been named along with several other rooms,” McInnes said. “For example, the main hall and the public meeting rooms have been named after two families in San Marcos. One part that still needs named is the main title for the building. The donor will have to make a $20 million contribution to have the building named after them.”
Traffic flow on campus also will be disrupted due to the location of the new building, said Heather Medley, marketing and training coordinator for University Student Parking Services.
“There is always going to be change anytime you move students around,” she said. “It’s only to be expected.”
When classes start in the new building in Fall 2011, bus routes will also change to accommodate the new building, she said. She was unsure of what plans for student parking around the building will be though.
Project images on the Facilities Planning and Construction Web site also show a parking lot at the rear of the building.
“This new building will be a state of the art facility that will allow for more student-student and student-teacher interaction,” McInnes said. “There will be better courses, higher level teaching programs and smaller classes. We are looking forward to it’s opening in the fall of 2011.”
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