Binghamton University has adopted a project to renovate and address some maintenance issues in the Old University Union over the next three years — a plan that could lead to the remodeling of interior space, relocation of current residents and transfer of Student Wing offices into the Old Union.

“What has to happen is a good deal of critical maintenance,” said James R. Van Voorst, the vice president for administration. “The roofs [of the Old Union] need to be redone, but when you start tearing apart roofs and you’re in the guts of the thing anyway – now that’s the good time to say what do we want to do with the building, both Old and New Union, as we move forward.”

The project is being broken up into two parts and several phases. While roof replacement will begin this semester, the renovations are still in “programming phase” and construction won’t commence until January 2009.

Right now the administration is compiling information and talking to various departments and student groups, Van Voorst said, trying to determine what students and faculty want in the Union.

One proposal on the table is relocation of offices that deal with student needs, such as the Registrar and Student Accounts, from the Student Wing into the Old Union.

“Students use these services a lot, especially during orientation and first few weeks of classes,” Van Voorst said, “and having those services more centrally located may be beneficial, [however] no decision has been made.”

But the addition of departments and offices might pose a problem for the building’s current occupants.

“There is a chance that the current use of space will be assigned elsewhere,” said Karen Fennie, spokeswoman for Physical Facilities.

Some students have expressed concern that the renovation will diminish the area currently used by the student groups.

“I know a lot of people have been freaking out about losing programming space,” said David Belsky, executive vice president of the Student Association. “I personally won’t let that happen. I’m very much monitoring the plan on daily basis.”

In December, a rumor that the administration was planning to convert the Mandela Room, Old Union Hall and Underground Coffeehouse into offices and conference rooms worried students vying for the space.

Van Voorst denied the existence of such plans.

“Who knows? We’re too early in the process to say yes or no [to this],” he said. “Doing that will have to have very good basis and benefits. Personally, I don’t see that happening.”

Belsky said that while such changes will not take place, there was a basis for the rumor.

“Back in December, Physical Facilities was told to take a map of the Union, [given] the first of the things that could be placed in the Union and put them together to hear how they fit,” he said. “There was no rhyme or reason to how they did it other than it fit the square footage.

“That was pretty much taking all of our programming space and [turning] it into office space, but that’s not happening. I made it very clear that if that were to happen the students would flip out.”

Van Voorst said that the administration is considering the functionality of the Mandela Room and possible remodeling.

“We have a gigantic room,” he said. “So instead of one big room with maybe 20 people using it, (we’ve discussed) making a smaller room, so two groups could have functions there at the same time.”

The first part of the project, roof replacement, will begin soon and cost $1.1 million. It is too early in the process to predict the cost of the renovations, however Van Voorst assured that there would be no tuition increase related to the construction.