A state-of-the-art facility with amenities including a juice bar, a leisure pool and a rock-climbing wall is what the UB community wants in a new North Campus recreation center, a team of consultants announced on Wednesday.
At a public forum in the Student Union, representatives from Brailsford and Dunlavey, a consultant firm from Washington, D.C., and Cannon Design, a national concept design architecture firm with an office in Buffalo, revealed a concept for a new recreation center on the North Campus and possible renovations to exercise facilities on South Campus, based on the findings of a campus recreation survey conducted during last semester.
Consultants said the project would be completed in the fall of 2006 at a cost of $83.1 million. Funding for the project will come from a new $165 student fee.
"We received a very clear and resounding message," said Brian Hanlon, a vice president with Brailsford and Dunlavey. "Of all the feasibility studies I've taken part in, support for this facility is as strong as I've ever seen. Most students said, in effect, 'Do what we want, and we'll pay for it.'"
According to the survey results, UB students want a 232,000 square-foot facility that would include a double-story workout room, basketball and racquetball courts, a synthetic-turf multi-activity court, a juice bar, a leisure pool, a rock climbing wall and a 1/8-mile jogging track. Clark Hall on South Campus will also undergo a complete renovation.
Over 5,000 students and 1,000 faculty and staff responded to the recreation center survey, Hanlon said. The consultants said there was strong support for Option A, which called for a comprehensive facility on North Campus and renovations to Clark Hall.
"It was, for us, a record response rate for a survey," Hanlon said. "Option A was the top choice for all categories, including commuters, residents of both campuses, and faculty and staff."
Danielle Davis, a senior English major, questioned whether students would still be willing to pay the new fee, considering the state's proposed tuition increase.
"I wonder what students will think of paying so much extra money for this facility in light of the fact that tuition might go up," she said.
Jessica Lumb, a sophomore nursing major, said the $165 fee per semester would be "fine," and she would even be willing to pay a little more, because the current facilities on campus do not have enough equipment to fulfill demand.
"I try to work out five days a week (in Alumni Arena)," Lumb said. "I always have to wait for the treadmills or elliptical trainers. There are 26,000 people that go (to UB) and there are not more than 20 treadmills on campus."
Due to the overwhelmingly favorable response UB received for the recreation center, Hanlon said the tuition increase should not affect the demand for the center.
The representatives from Cannon Design also revealed images of what the new recreation center could look like.
According to the plan developed by the consultants, the North Campus facility will be located on a space of lawn on the Academic Spine between the Student Union and the Center for the Arts.
Malcolm Lawrie of Cannon Design said this site offers many advantages, including its proximity to the Spine, the upcoming Lee Road complex - a proposed commercial and residential development between the Ellicott Complex and the Academic Spine - and Lake LaSalle.
Robert Maxwell, facilities coordinator for the Division of Athletics, said the facility would be built solely for use by students, not varsity athletes.
"(The new recreation center) is envisioned as a facility for students," Maxwell said. "Varsity athletes won't come to this facility."
According to Maxwell, the Alumni Arena pool would remain a shared facility and the renovations will open blocks of time at Alumni for club sports.
The Cannon Design architects also presented a concept for the renovation of Clark Hall on South Campus.
"The way the building is configured now, it's like a rabbit's warren," said Lawrie.
The architects' concept calls for a complete renovation and restructuring of the building, including expanded workout facilities, renovations to its pool and gymnasium, and replacing its outdated service infrastructure.
One of the next steps is selecting an architectural firm to design the facility - a process similar to bidding, said Andrea Costantino, director of Student Unions and Activities.
"We will evaluate several criteria, including the cost and uniqueness of the architects' proposals," Costantino said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
