Rumors have circulated about the structure being built between the Student Union and the Academic Village. For those of you who thought the building was going to be a mini-market, you may be a bit disappointed with the future plans for the building’s use on campus. Director of Planning and Systems, Campus Capital Development, Thomas DelGiudice has helped in clarifying some of the details on the building.
The current Academic Village is expected to be closed down and eventually demolished. This leaves the police department without a space. DelGiudice thought that there was a need to find a location for the police headquarters and decisions were made to keep the headquarters in a separate building, unlike its previous location. DelGiudice explains, “We didn’t want to have it in the new building as it would take too much space away from classrooms, and it wouldn’t be appropriate and we didn’t want it right on top of the dorms.”
Fortunately enough there is available owned property that is still close enough to other facilities and buildings on campus where the headquarters will have its own space with fewer distractions. The location for the police department headquarters will be beneficial for the officers since the current location, as DelGiudice mentions, “is horned in a very old and badly suited space in Academic Village.” Since there is new technology required, the station’s location in the Village has become unfeasible. For those who are wondering how this benefits the campus, DelGiudice explains that the new location will accommodate the community efficiently. With the current Academic Village being demolished and the focus of the campus moving to the west side, the location is more suitable than before. As the school renovates its physical appearance, DelGiudice notes that the most important part of the planning is that headquarters be “replaced by something more suited to dorms or academic mission.”
The lingering question on everyone’s mind: How can the school afford to make such changes? According to DelGiudice, the budget being used to fund the new police building is coming from strategic initiative funds which were budgeted in with the new Academic Village. Police headquarters will have a more suitable infrastructure that will be able to better take care of certain emergencies, security cameras, and fire alarms. The building is expected to be finished by the summer of 2011.
So for those of you who are looking forward to the building being a mini-market, now you know what to expect when you return for the Fall 2011 semester.