Paul Miller
Thursday, July 16, 1998
(970) 491-6432
LORY STUDENT CENTER AT COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY COMES BACK
STRONG ONE YEAR AFTER JULY 1997 FLOOD
FORT COLLINS--A year ago, Martha Blood, director of Lory
Student Center, was standing in the ruin that once had been the
lower level of the student center. Shining a flashlight beam
around, she caught traces of the high-water mark the flood left a
few inches from the ceiling. Unidentifiable piles of rubble
moldered in dark corners, and on one side of a corridor a Pepsi
machine had smashed through the wall of what once had been the
Office of Community Services.
But now the lower floor is well on the way to a new life.
"Overall, the renovation project has moved forward with lightning
speed," Blood said. "We managed to compress about five years of
planning and construction into 15 months."
The bookstore, which opened for business in January,
features new merchandise areas with enlarged textbook sections.
Ten windows along the south wall face onto a long, curving
hallway and will be used for textbook buy-back and, in the
interim, display cases.
In addition, a new ground level entrance at the northeast
end of the building will provide better access to the building.
Walls that prevented access from one end of the lower level to
the other - and which blocked natural light - have been removed,
and the layout now feels more open and inviting, Blood said.
In all, construction cost for the student center's lower
level has run about $7.6 million with an additional $4 million
for fixtures, furniture and equipment, Blood said. When the dust
settles, about 107,000 square feet will have been renovated.
"We're incorporating architectural features such as lighter
colors, floor patterns, display cases and curved walls to make
the lower level feel more playful and less like a basement," she
said.
Offices for the Outdoor Adventure Program and the Challenge
Ropes Course opened in June on the north end of the lower level.
More square footage was added than had previously existed when
the space housed KCSU-FM, the student radio station.
Staff members of the Office of Community Services also have
been busy setting up computers and other material in their new
offices on the north end, and the bike shop, formerly near the
west entrance, now is operating adjacent to the Outdoor Adventure
Program. Centre Cafe, a coffee and sandwich shop, will open in
August near the new entryway on the northeast side.
Overall, the renovation project has moved forward with
lightning speed, Blood said.
"If we had anticipated renovating such a large space, it
would have taken about two years to plan and an additional three
years to complete," Blood said. "This project was compacted into
15 months."
The remaining construction will run in three phases. The
first phase, scheduled for completion near the beginning of fall
semester, will include offices for about 40 student organizations
in addition to a copy center, mail packaging business and offices
for Off-Campus Student Services and Resources for Adult Learners.
The second phase, which will be completed about three weeks
later, will add 1,500 square feet more to the student media
offices, including CTV, KCSU-FM and the Rocky Mountain Collegian.
The third phase, scheduled for completion at the end of the
semester, will include a commons area, lounge, recreation
facilities, restaurants, a convenience store and a new west
entrance.
A Subway shop and the Ramskeller, a popular gathering spot
for students, will return close to their original locations on
the west side of the building. A new Sbarro's restaurant will be
added in the area along with the convenience store, which will
offer late-night service.
"Nature gave us a blank slate, and we're making the best of
it," Blood said. "It's exciting to see all this construction and
activity, but it's going to be even more exciting to see the
project come to a close."
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