OU's many construction projects are on track and should not experience delays, said Jerry Farley, vice president of Administrative Affairs.
OU is undergoing a facelift. About a dozen additions and restoration projects are in the works. The OU Golf Course should open next summer but the OU Law Center will not move to campus until 1999.
Current major construction projects include:

* Catlett Music Center's second phase should be complete by early spring 1997, Farley said.

Once the second phase is completed, there will be an additional 79,800 square feet for a concert hall and classrooms. A recital hall, percussion rehearsal suite and faculty and staff suites will also be housed in the finished building. Construction began in March and is projected to cost almost $12 million.
Farley said the expansion should be open for summer school in 1997.

The first phase of the building was completed in March 1986.

A parking garage next to the building should be complete by March 1997. It will house about 575 spaces.

* The Oklahoma Memorial Union should be completely renovated by September 1997, said Tom Ellis, director of the union. The OU Board of Regents awarded the construction contract Nov. 1. Ellis said asbestos removal should be complete in some places after winter break.

Among the changes will be an expanded dining area and restorations to the ballroom and lounges to their original design before redecorating that took place in the 1950s.

The renovations will cost about $7.75 million.

* The Law Center architects are currently working with faculty and staff as the process of moving the Law Center continues. Construction of an addition to Monnet Hall is planned so that the college will have adequate space for classrooms and the Law Library.

Farley said it is likely that tenants of Monnet Hall such as the Western History Collection will move to the current Law Center.

Construction should begin in 1997 and end in 1999.

* The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History project is receiving bids for construction. Farley said the OU Regents are expected to award a bid in January. Construction should begin in February. Farley said he anticipates at least a 30-month construction period, setting the earliest possible completion date in August 1998. The museum is expected to cost about $37.5 million.

* Boyd House, the future home of OU President David Boren, should be complete by the end of the summer. Josh Galper, Boren's press secretary, said the president and his wife are planning to move in early next fall.

Galper said more than $1.4 million has been raised in private funds for the project. Galper said the sale of the president's house at Lindsey Street and Pickard Avenue. He said the university expects about $400,000 from the sale.
Renovations and additions will double the original area of the building. Changes will include a 40-foot by 25-foot music room designed for large functions.

* Athletic facilities will also receive a facelift. Architects and engineers are planning a new softball facility, Farley said.

Oklahoma Memorial Stadium's east side and north and south endzones will undergo remodeling. The baseball stadium will also receive improvements.

Mike Moorman, director of Architectural and Engineering Services, said many improvements on athletic facilities are not concrete yet.

The OU Golf Course closed for restructuring in February. The improved course will open summer 1996. The new course will include new tees, grass and watering system.


Thursday, December 7, 1995