After a school year’s worth of construction and renovation, the Old University Union will be reopened on schedule, in time for the start of the fall 2009 semester.
Construction will wrap up the week of Aug. 15. During the next week, furniture will be moved in.
Spaces being renovated inside what is known as the Old Union include meeting rooms, UU133, the Mandela Room, the Old Union Hall, lounges, the Tillman Lobby and the floors above and below those spaces, including the area around the bowling alley and the Undergrounds Cafe, home of Late Nite Binghamton.
“The project has been going really well and on schedule. We are looking forward to having the building open for the fall semester,” Karen Fennie, spokeswoman for Physical Facilities, said. “I hope everyone will be pleased with the space. It will be brighter and more modern.”
Currently there is plumbing, electrical and utility work going on in addition to the drywall that is being put up, Fennie said. New windows will also be added to the building.
During the construction, most of the building was gutted and the rooms were made more flexible so they can be used for multiple purposes, she said. The building will also now use lighting, mechanical equipment and windows that are more energy efficient.
“The new University Union will have an enclosed waiting area for the bus,” Fennie said. “The Mandela Room and the Old Union Hall will be a combined space for a variety of events but can also be partitioned off with removable walls.”
The bowling alley and rooms used for Late Nite were also revamped.
“We built a stage down there as a part of the project,” Fennie said. “The bowling alley will still be down there. We had to protect the floor of the bowling alley while we did the work.”
The first part of the project that began last summer was the asbestos removal, which was found mainly in the putty used for window corking and in the adhesive for the floor tiles, Fennie explained.
“Since we ripped all that out and it was disturbed, we were required to remove the asbestos,” she said. “Once that was completed, general contraction was able for demolition and reconstruction.”
In addition to the opening of the University Union, the Susquehanna Room, which was used as a meeting place during the construction, will be reopened as a dining hall.