Texas A&M University is an ever-growing institution. Whether it be moving athletics into the Southeastern Conference or purchasing a law school, the University changes as does the campus.
There have been new constructions sites for the new liberal arts building and the Northside dorm complex, along with renovations to the Player Development Center, a training facility for the football team, Joe Routt Boulevard and Corps Dorm 8
The Arts and Humanities building broke ground almost a year and half ago, and according to contractor Brown Reynolds Watford Architects and Skanska, the building should be finished by early fall and departments can begin moving in by November.
This building will be the first on campus dedicated specifically to the arts and humanities. It will include recording studios, costume and rehearsal rooms, and an outdoor courtyard with electrical access for actors to run lines, musicians to perform and students to gather.
The demolition of Northside residence halls, Moore, Crocker and McInnis Hall began summer 2011. The schedule is to have an 85-week construction process that will end by July 2013, allowing residents to move in for the fall 2013 semester.
The Department of Residence Life said the project will revitalize the north side of campus.
The Player Development Center for the Athletics Department has also begun. This center will have a weight room for football players and include offices for coaches, a nutrition center, locker rooms and other training rooms. The facility will be complete by the end of 2012.
Joe Routt Boulevard between Rudder Tower and Koldus has been under renovations since April 23 and should be complete by fall.
Changes to Routt will include adding two mid-block crossings with a single level surface from door-to-door, widening the width of the loading circle at Rudder and defining the two lanes by a 4-foot-wide unloading area separating them and creating bi-directional bike lanes.
Renovations to Harrell Hall, or the Corps of Cadets Dorm 8, are expected to be complete by August. The plans include replacing Lounge D with a Leadership Learning Center.
Dorm 8 will see major changes with new building codes in place since it was built in 1939, an elevator is required and there will be a fourth floor connection to the Leadership Learning Center.
Bryson Sutterfield, deputy Corps commander, said he lived in Dorm 8 his freshman and sophomore years and he is eager to see the changes.
If there was any dorm on the quad that could resemble the dorm pride typical of most ordinary American university dormitories, Dorm 8 was it, Bryson said. [The renovations are] much needed and long deserving upgrades to the home of the Keepers of the Spirit.