Filed Under: President's Post

MTSU is an exciting place to work and study in large part because so many improvements are underway! Here are some highlights of recent and current projects.

Science Building

Construction on MTSU’s new $147 million Science Building began in May 2012. Construction is on  schedule, an a steel topping-out ceremony took place Jan. 11. The project will result in approximately 257,000 gross square feet for biology and chemistry, 37 class labs, two open labs, 13 research labs, six classrooms, faculty offices, numerous informal learning areas, and space for student presentations. Approximately 1,500 new student stations will be provided in the labs and classrooms. The building will accommodate state-of-the-art teaching and research technologies. The design features best practices in sustainability by meeting Tennessee State Sustainability Guidelines, and the completed facility will be the equivalent of LEED-certified. The project is planned to be ready for move-in by fall 2014 and ready for classes in spring 2015.

Student Services Building and Parking Garages

Construction began last spring for a new Student Services Building located east of the new Student Union and adjacent to the Campus Recreation Building. The Student Services Building will relocate all functions related to Admissions, Records and Enrollment, Financial Aid, Scheduling, the Bursar’s Office, and Academic Advising. The facility will serve as a starting point for campus tours and as the primary visitors’ center for prospective students and their families. The building will include a bridge from a new student parking garage, through the Student Services Building and extending across Blue Raider Drive to the second-floor ballroom level of the new Student Union. Construction and move-in are expected to be complete by the start of fall semester 2014.

LRC Renovation

Renovation of the Learning Resources Center began Dec. 2011, and construction is now substantially  complete and ready for classes. The project accommodates the Interior Design and Textiles, Merchandising, and Design programs in the academic campus core. Creative and Visual Services has moved into newly renovated space in the Fairview Building, and WMOT and WMTS are now in the new Center for Innovation in Media in the Bragg Mass Communication Building.

Parking

Current parking projects include construction of two new student parking garages. One is adjacent to the Health, Wellness, and Recreation Center, and the other is in the Holmes Building lot close to Greenland Drive. The garages will give students convenient access from the edge of campus and direct pedestrian traffic to the core of campus. Each will have approximately 490 spaces for students and will be  substantially complete in summer 2013.

Transportation

The next phase of roadway improvements includes the widening of Lightning Way and the widening of Champion Way with a new turn lane at Greenland Drive; a new rotary at the intersection of those two roads; and improved pedestrian walkways, crosswalks, and lighting. Construction is expected to begin spring 2013 with substantial completion of the new rotary in the summer of 2013 and completion of the overall project by summer 2014. All roadway projects are designed to improve shuttle bus efficiency and traffic flow, relieve traffic congestion, improve pedestrian walkways and lighting, and provide bike lanes into campus and around the perimeter of the academic core.

Underground Electric Work

Construction of underground electrical duct banks is nearing completion, in what will be an electrical loop around campus. This project will improve electrical service capacity and reliability while enhancing the campus by removing most overhead lines, which will be removed following temporary, required power outages.