It was a busy school year for Facilities Design and Construction, which oversaw the design and construction of several new projects, as well as the renovation and expansion of many existing campus buildings.

One of the main construction projects to begin was the refurbishment and expansion of athletic facilities. Scheduled to be completed in October, renovations included adding basketball courts to a new indoor practice facility, expanding the gymnastics team’s training facility and refurbishing the promenade to improve access and storm drainage.

The project also includes the addition of a new diving pool at Hillenbrand Aquatic Center, which will feature a 17-foot-deep diving well and a 10-meter diving tower.

“”There are a lot of separate projects going on in the facility,”” said Melissa Dryden, senior program coordinator for Facilities Design and Construction. “”The goal is ultimately to improve the quality of training for several student athletic programs.””

One of the construction challenges the UA faced came from accommodating students from the James E. Rogers College of Law while the building took on a major overhaul.

The modernization of the library, addition of classroom space and installation of windows to add natural light and conserve energy were all on the list of improvements.

Construction is slated for completion in July.

“”It was such a major renovation that law students had to be relocated to other buildings so the construction could be completed quicker,”” Dryden said. “”With all the new additions, it will be a really nice facility for students and staff once it opens up.””

This year also saw the completion of a new Family and Consumer Sciences building on the corner of North Park Avenue and East Fourth Street.

The facility, named McClelland Park after 1944 alumnus Norman McClelland, will be the new center for several programs in the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences.

Dryden said the biggest project in the works for next year is the start of the construction of two new residence halls.

Currently in the design development phase, the halls will add 1,070 new beds and will be organized into learning communities comparable to the pre-business wing of La Paz Residence Hall and the psychology wing of Apache-Santa Cruz Residence Hall.

One of the halls will be built on the corner of North Highland Avenue and East Sixth Street and should be completed during the summer of 2010.

The other, to be built on the corner of North Tyndall Avenue and East Sixth Street, should be completed by January 2011.

While the UA has long been a practitioner of sustainable building, it took new steps this year to ensure green building practices in the future.

These included collaborating with more than 90 other universities to be a part of the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System. Additionally, the UA started a goal to make all new buildings on campus achieve at least the minimum silver rating in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, a nationally accepted standard for green buildings.

The first building planned to achieve this certification will be the expansion of the Student Recreation Center, scheduled for completion in November 2009.