University hopes to replace aging student union

COLUMBUS – The Ohio State University is one step away from replacing an outdated Ohio Union with a modern facility. Approval by the university’s Board of Trustees would open the door to begin an 18 to 24-month design and planning phase, followed by a two-year construction phase. The proposed $100 million facility could be open by fall 2008.

“The current Ohio Union has reached the end of the road,” William H. Hall, vice president for student affairs told trustees today (5/7). “Three feasibility studies in the past 10 years have reached the same conclusion — that it is time to quit trying to patch and renovate this building and to build a new one that will meet the needs of today and the coming decades.”

The first of its kind at a public university in the country, the Ohio Union was a model facility when it opened in 1950. It was considered the ideal student union until 15 to 20 years ago when deferred maintenance issues began catching up with the aging facility, said Tracy Stuck, Ohio Union director.

Stuck said the current structure is operating with many of the original mechanicals installed in 1950 that do not provide adequate heating, ventilation, air conditioning or plumbing; the building offers limited accessibility for people with disabilities; and technology is inadequate at best.

The presentation Friday (5/7) to the trustees by Hall and Stuck was the culmination of the latest feasibility study that included Ohio Union staff and representatives from the University Architect’s Office and three student governments (Undergraduate Student Government, Council of Graduate Students and Inter-Professional Council). The study began in October 2002 and involved discussions with students, faculty and staff to determine their needs.

A vote by trustees is expected to take place at the June board meeting.

Student support for the project is very high, Stuck said. At its Feb. 18 Senate meeting, USG voted 43-3 in support of a resolution calling for a new Ohio Union. The resolution supported the reconstruction of the existing Ohio Union and a student fee to support the project, as well as a call to the University to make the new Ohio Union a top fundraising priority in the upcoming campaign.

Mike Goodman, USG president, said the new union represents the university’s commitment to the student experience.

“You are not going to be able to find another university that can compete with the student experience Ohio State will be offering once the Ohio Union, student recreation center and South Campus Gateway projects are complete,” Goodman said.

Gateway, a planned mixed-use development that will include retail, restaurant, entertainment and office space, apartments and a parking garage, is the signature project in Campus Partners, the non-profit urban redevelopment corporation established by the university to revitalize High Street and the neighborhoods near campus. It is scheduled to open sometime in 2005.

Goodman said the current union does not provide nearly enough meeting and office space for the 750 student organizations at Ohio State, nor does it provide sufficient opportunities for enhanced student/faculty interaction.

Stuck said funding for the project will be comprised of the approximately $20 million currently in an Ohio Union renovation fund, private donations and naming rights to areas of the building, and a student fee — expected to be in the $30 to $45 range per quarter — that will be assessed when the building is opened.

She said a new Ohio Union supports the core elements of the Academic Plan: to enhance and better serve the student body, to create a diverse university community and to enhance the quality of the teaching and learning environment.

It also will enhance student recruitment and student services. Each year more than 8,500 students and families attend an array of admissions, orientation, and honors and scholars events at the Ohio Union. With an outdated building, Ohio State is at a competitive disadvantage for recruitment, outreach and engagement, Stuck said.

Of the university’s 11 benchmark institutions, she said eight are planning, building or have recently opened a new union. Four institutions in Ohio are building or recently have built new student unions — the University of Akron, Bowling Green State University, the University of Cincinnati and Ohio University.

The new facility would offer flexible space for the changing needs of students, staff and faculty and would include wireless technology, distance learning studios and meeting rooms throughout, as well as a 24-hour restaurant and modern ballrooms. Expanded student services being discussed include satellite offices of financial aid, the registrar and Buck ID; a post office; bank/ATM; convenience store; art gallery; and baby-sitting services. The conceptual design moves the Ohio Union closer to the parking garage, creating green space on the south side of the current building. It includes a conference theater that would open up into an outdoor amphitheater.

Proposed features would include a lecture hall/theater, a commuter lounge with wireless Internet technology, recreational activities that were once offered in the present facility, and a redesigned Multicultural Center that would become a focal point of the new facility.

“One of the most exciting features of the new design is the two-story Multicultural Center,” Hall said. “Its design will facilitate use by all students, its prominence will demonstrate the importance of multiculturalism at Ohio State, and its placement facing the Oval will symbolize the connection between academics and student affairs that is at the heart of the Multicultural Center.”

“The new Ohio Union building will reflect the multi-disciplinary richness of Ohio State by providing programs and places that connect students, faculty, alumni and the community,” Stuck said.