Construction continues on UH's new parking garage and Welcome Center, which are scheduled to be open by January 2006. Photo by Mark Lacy

The rumble of concrete trucks, rattle of jackhammers and beeping of construction vehicles backing up are just a few sounds of summer at the University of Houston.

Renovations and construction projects are in full swing this summer. Among them is continued work on the Science and Engineering Research and Classroom Complex (SERCC). During the May 19 UH System Board of Regents meeting, a $7 million increase was approved for the project’s $51 million construction budget.

“This budget increase will be applied toward the completion of SERCC’s research tower,” said Dave Irvin, associate vice president of plant operations. “The offices and corridors will be filled out, as well as several laboratories.”

The tower’s interior is still being designed and its construction will begin this fall. Irvin said that this aspect of SERCC will be completed by April 2006. The classrooms and 550-seat auditorium, however, will open this fall.

The streets near SERCC at Entrance 14 off Cullen Boulevard soon will undergo major construction that may affect traffic. Irvin said utility lines will be buried beneath the streets and new lighting and landscaping will be added to the area.

“There may be some lane restrictions,” he said. “We will advertise any potential traffic obstacles before work begins.”

During the summer months, the campus community will notice steady growth in the new $25.8 million parking garage and Welcome Center, which is being built next to the Hilton University of Houston Hotel and Moody Towers. Trucks carrying materials to this site are scheduled for evening deliveries to avoid potential traffic jams. The garage will be completed and ready for use by January 2006.

Corridor renovations also are scheduled for this summer. Recently, Farish Hall’s corridors were given a facelift, and the halls and atrium of the Cullen College of Engineering will soon get a new look.

The $49 million M.D. Anderson Library expansion is nearing completion, Irvin said. The library’s upper level shelf space is being renovated to match the building’s new spaces, which include a first-floor Internet café and the new now-open Honors College facilities. The library expansion is expected to be complete in time for fall classes.

Also scheduled for fall completion is the $4.5 million renovation to the building that houses the School of Theatre and the Lyndall Finley Wortham Theatre. Once completed, the building will be renamed the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts at UH.

“Working on this project is a little tricky,” Irvin said. “We are scheduling work around the Children’s Theatre Festival schedule, so we have to make sure we don’t impact these performances.”

The Cullen Oaks expansion also will wrap this fall. The $17 million project will add 186 furnished apartments, 256 parking spaces, laundry facilities, a recreation room and student lounge to the existing student apartments. It also will offer additional student parking thanks to a new parking deck that is being constructed on the north side of the apartments.

Mike Emery
Memery@central.uh.edu