The original scope of the University Union Plaza expansion has been completed, said Lorin Torbitt chair of the University Union Advisory Board, but construction continues on an additional expansion approved in February.
The cost of the original project came in at $3.1 million; the new expansion is expected to cost an additional $400,000, Torbitt said. The proposal approved by the University Union Advisory Board on Feb. 2 says the expansion is not to exceed $500,000. The original budget for the plaza project was $4.5 million; the actual cost of $3.1 million was significantly under budget. Torbitt said the project came in so far under budget because of a drop in construction price due to the economic downturn.
Torbitt said the state approached the UUAB about doing the additional expansion, which will offer more grassy seating areas for students to utilize.
“The offer happened at a good time because of the closure of South Perimeter,” she said.
The closure made it possible for construction to be expanded out where the street used to be. South Perimeter was closed in conjunction with the beginning of construction of the UU Plaza. However, it was never intended to be reopened because of the university’s plan to make Cal Poly a more pedestrian-friendly campus.
A common misconception that has surrounded the UU Plaza expansion is the money spent on it could have been used to lower student fees or retain lecturers. The money used for the expansion came from the Associated Students, Incorporated reserve fund and can only be used for construction and repairs of ASI managed buildings.
Construction should be completed by commencement, Torbitt said.
I am very excited about the overall UU Plaza Renovation, the campus was already beautiful before but now the union plaza will be more elegant and organized. I felt that improving the physical aspect of the campus will raise Cal Poly’s value and attract even more people.
I have not found a single person, save those who are acctually on the UU Advisory Board, who thought that having a new plaza was a good idea and was a good use of $3.6M dollars. I am perfectly aware that the money could not have been legally used on academics, but just because you can’t use the money on something smart doesn’t mean you should use it on something stupid. The old plaza was perfectly functional. There was NOTHING wrong with it. There was really no reason to replace it. I could go on about how the new plaza’s design is more open to the wind or how the closure of South Perimeter makes it harder to drive on campus or how the pavers on South Perimeter will be destroyed by the commercial vehicle traffic that will still pass through the area or how all the old trees that provided shade were cut down for the project, but all of these issues are besides the point. The old plaza worked fine, therefore there was no reason to replace it.
This project proves that the UU Advisory Board is not accountable enough to students. Which isn’t really suppering; they are not elected as far as I can tell. I have to wonder just how we got into this situation of having a $4M surplus in the UU’s “maintenance” fund. This means that the UU fees are simply set too high and it encourages useless wastes of money like the new plaza. I propose we reduce the UU fees so that a surplus does not build up as quickly. I also propose that we require the UU Advisory Board, or any other committee that gets significant amounts of mandatory student fees to either to seek direct student approval for any new capital project over $100,000. This would cost nothing to implement; we already have yearly elections for various jobs in ASI’s student government. It would ensure that what capital projects we do implement really are “what the students wanted”.
I’m with Andrew on this. I’ve seen the new UU, and it’s severly underwhelming. It seems to me like some contractor just wanted some work and decided to tear out the old concrete, move some dirt, and pour all new conrete. If you ask me, it’s questionable whether this “imporvement” is actually better than what we had before.
wow really thoughtful comment. here’s the thing that’s frustrating. there are individual funds on campus that HAVE TO go towards the space that they’ve been allocated for. why the students don’t have more direct say in this sort of thing is beyond me. my background tends to make me attribute it to politics. someone hi up wanted to put their name on a big project like this during their career at Poly. as students, it is our right and responsibility to speak up and pay attention to what is going on around us. thanks for reading the paper!
So, can we “sell” the east side of the stadium to the ASI for a dollar, and then they can put that money toward renovation of the stadium.. It’s getting pretty bad rust holes going on.
In other news, the $132 million dollar Center for Science and Mathematics just broke ground, thanks to the generosity of many donors bringing in about $20 million.
The Center for Science and Math will be state of the art, and will change the feel of central campus adding a central park.
All Cal Poly students are expected to take laboratory classes in the state of the art 6 story structure, expected to be complete 2013.
The Expanded Rec. Center is under construction, and will have a second level indoor running track, squash courts, workout centers and leisure pools and volleyball courts in the back.
Cal Poly is becoming one of the nicest campuses in California.. and the UU plaza is one of the focal points. We should wait and see the final product before we decide as well.
I do think it is an improvement on the old layout (although, I wish they still had a water feature). I don’t completely agree with closing South Perimeter Drive either (maybe close it during class hours or some compromise), because driving down to the stadium is a good view of campus for visitors.
The next thing to spend money on is make a pedestrian tunnel under Perimeter Drive (near Village drive) so all the people going to PCV, and Cerro Vista can cross under the street avoiding the heavy traffic. There are too many cars and people at that location, and it seems the logical thing to do (and a tunnel appears on the school’s master plan).
Since construction costs and bids are way down, it’s not a bad idea to get things built for a substantial savings.