Update on Burdick Hall expansion
By: Sam Shelton, News Editor
Students will now have to enter Burdick Hall through the building’s University Avenue entrance following mid-September pathway closures on the grounds.
The area between the West Village Bridge and Burdick was closed off to allow for construction to begin on Burdick’s upcoming expansion. The expansion will add about 94,000 square feet of space to the building’s existing 100,000 square feet, according to Campus Rec Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications Julie Miller.
To accommodate for the construction, some facilities have been moved within the building or otherwise displaced. The Fitness Center, formerly set up in the space surrounding the climbing wall facing inner campus, has been moved to Gym 1. Gym 2 will remain available for open recreational purposes.
“Students who come for the Fitness Center should still have pretty much the same experience,” Miller said.
The climbing wall has also been closed, and professional staff offices have been shuffled.
New facilities that will be added in the $34 million expansion include multi-activity courts for intramurals and other athletic activities, a center for outdoor activities, a functional fitness course and an elevated sprint hill. Some of the new group fitness studios will be tailored to unique exercises like cycling, yoga and boxing. What was the Fitness Center will also undergo updates and renovations. The climbing wall will reopen with the new additions.
Other existing areas, like the gyms and pool will remain as they are.
Miller said that she is most excited for the functional fitness course, which will allow for “non-traditional” exercise.
“We’re really excited about that because no one else is really doing that,” she said. “It’ll be a pretty cool fitness course and we can do some cool programming to build into that.”
Construction on the expansion is slated for completion by Fall 2017.