Students, Bookstore Move Into Newly Constructed Space

Jeff Harrison
March 16, 2001


On Monday morning, March 19, UA students will be buying their books in the new Student Union Bookstore. In addition, the Office of Student Programs is changing its name to the Center for Student Involvement & Leadership and will open for business in the new Student Union, Room 404.

This marks a significant milestone, as the first phase of the new structure replaces the venerable 50-year-old Union, now scheduled for demolition.

As a welcome back from spring break, banners, sidewalk signs and staffers at information tables will help students find their way to the new facilities. The Bookstore will celebrate in a big way on Tuesday, March 20, with bands, tours, games and information.

The new entrance to the bookstore and student programs is located on the northeast side of the building, with access from Second Street, North Campus Drive and the area north of the UA Mall between Engineering and the current UofA Bookstore.

This is the first sign that the end of construction on the UA Mall is finally in sight. By July, there will be more signs of progress. Many of the new student-run offices will have views of the Catalina Mountains that many corporate executives will envy. New restaurants and office space also will open on the east side of the new Student Union as construction fences there come down and move west to accommodate the second phase of the project begins.

Perhaps the most noticeable change will be the removal of the fences around the Integrated Learning Center (ILC). Grass will be reseeded in the Mall between Cherry Avenue and the Krutch Cactus Garden. Students will be able to use the Integrated Learning Center courtyard while construction workers finish up the interior of the classrooms. Students services will be offered in the ILC this fall, with classes following in the ILC beginning in January of 2002.

Also this fall, additions to the Main Library and McKale Center will be completed, and the parking lot at the east end of the Mall will be removed and reseeded with grass.



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