University of Alabama updates

[ttownfeen]

Mostly likely, it's sewer/storm drain work.

[Electrical Porpoise]

From UA's Facebook page.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

University of Alabama sets record with 10 students named to USA Today Academic All American Team

UA placed 10 on the list, which is double the two universities in the number 2 spot (Johns Hopkins and Washington University (St Louis)), which were tied at 5 each. 10 is the most that any university has placed on the list in a single year.

Is there any doubt that UA is on its way to being one of the premier public universities in the country? On par with schools like the University of North Carolina and the University of Texas? May not happen immediately, but I think the school is well on its way.

University Press Release

EDIT: Wanna know the best part? 8 of the 10 students are from the state of Alabama, so this isn't just a proud moment for UA, but the entire state.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

$66 Million 984 bed dorm to be built

The plan would call for the dorm, a $15 Million rec center, and a $7 Million dining hall.

The hall would be constructed on the bluff between Rose Towers and Old Hackberry Lane on north campus.

Rose Towers is likely to be torn down within the next five years, and Byrd, Parker Adams, and Wilson halls are also expected to be razed so this new dorm, called the North Bluff Residential Community would be needed to ensure that the campus doesn't end up with a net loss after these dorms are torn down.

It's also supposed to be 7 stories tall, so here we go with another not so tall building on campus...

Either way, it's good news though. We need more stuff on north campus.

[DruidCity]

Rose Towers is likely to be torn down within the next five years

Given the context of a skyscraper forum, what will/should go in place of Rose Towers, which is one of the tallest buildings in town ?

[ttownfeen]

Needs a better name than "North Bluff Community".

Originally Posted by DruidCity

Given the context of a skyscraper forum, what will/should go in place of Rose Towers, which is one of the tallest buildings in town ?

Apparently this will replace Rose. 7 stories will still be relatively tall. Nothing on campus is taller than three stories.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

The new building has exactly enough beds to let the university break even on dorm beds when those four dorms are torn down. But, just like Paty, I don't see Rose being torn down in the next five years. Paty was supposed to be torn down like two years ago, but that didn't happen because the school needed the space.

Though, I will say that Rose is more likely to be torn down than Paty is. Last school year, and this coming year, I'll be living on the 10th floor of Rose. Every time I see the maintenance people in the elevators, they look exhausted. I've asked them before about the status of the building and they say there's no repairing it, it's impossible. The costs of renovating the building to modern standards of health and safety FAR outweigh the costs of building a new stat of the art building in it's place (hence this new project).

And yes, 7 stories is enough, but the thing is gonna have to be massive. To give you some perspective, the entire Ridgecrest South complex has 968 beds and Tutwiler has 1,058 beds.

I imagine that construction of this building will take up the entire Rose Towers/Riverside north parking lot and will have some kind of parking structure. It's definitely gonna look something ominous as you drive down Jack Warner, or down Rice Mine.

[ttownfeen]

I also think tower dorms are out of style. Their heyday was the 60s through the 80s. That time is over. Spawling lowrise complexes like Ridgcrest rule now.

[atlanta68]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drmille...57606237757937

As you can see in this pic of the new Nursing Building, there are still unsightly telephone lines up and down Univ. Blvd, including the part that runs through the UA campus. Any one know if there are any plans to place the lines underground? Seems bizarre to me that the lines are not underground by now.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by atlanta68

http://www.flickr.com/photos/drmille...57606237757937

As you can see in this pic of the new Nursing Building, there are still unsightly telephone lines up and down Univ. Blvd, including the part that runs through the UA campus. Any one know if there are any plans to place the lines underground? Seems bizarre to me that the lines are not underground by now.

Building looks awesome. It's certainly starting to look like a true UA building

As for the power lines, I don't think there are any current plans to bury them, as the University's boundaries hadn't reached that far down University Blvd until just recently. Though, I have no doubt that they will eventually be placed under ground, as most of the other power lines across campus have already been.

[atlanta68]

I wonder what is stopping UA from placing the lines that run above the Quad portion of the campus underground? One would think that that would be seen as the most important area to look its best.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by atlanta68

I wonder what is stopping UA from placing the lines that run above the Quad portion of the campus underground? One would think that that would be seen as the most important area to look its best.

There's no telling really, but it would be my thought that they have their reasons.

You have to realize though, that some lines just can't be sunk. It's not as if the University doesn't have the money or political power to accomplish it, I think there is just a specific reason it hasn't happen. Example, high tension lines aren't easily sunk, many of them can't be shut off until an alternate route has been established, and that's just complicated. Then you can also run into the situation with the area around where University Blvd meets McFarland, where both the University and city of Tuscaloosa have a stake in that land, so this political complications make movement in that department near impossible.

[ttownfeen]

University asked to oversee Bryce construction

[ttownfeen]

Stadium market to allow public access year-round

...you will soon be able to walk into Bryant-Denny Stadium any day of the week.

Tucked under an archway of the $65 million expansion, the South End Zone Market will allow visitors to walk a path under the bleachers to the goalposts and see the stadium from the inside.

University of Alabama administrators plan to use the area as a launchpad for stadium tours and tours of the campus given to prospective students and parents by admissions staff. Also, two eateries — Zoe’s Kitchen and Yogurt Lab — will set up shop this fall in the marketplace and be open year-round.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

UA Enrollment Passes 30,000

UA reported a Fall 2010 enrollment of 30,232 students, an increase of about 5% (1,425 students).

Of the 30,232 students, 5,563 were freshmen, 125 were national merit scholars.

20,112 applied, which is a 175% increase over the number in 2002. Overall, enrollment is up 54.1% since 2002.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Construction Updates

Well, I thought I'd never see it again, but here we are in another massive construction phase on campus.

North Campus dorm construction

Construction at them moment is pretty much just preparation. They started before school began (a mega hassle for me during band camp...) and they're still doing daily blasting (at 3PM on the dot) and moving huge mounds of dirt.

Science and Engineering Complex Phase III

Right now it looks like they've started building the fourth floor. Or maybe it's just the roof... anyways, they're progressing well and they've begun to do some additional work on surrounding areas to prepare for landscaping linkages and the like.

University Blvd Repaving

The repaving is finished, we're just waiting on the new striping. Good news! They're including bike lanes!

Foster Auditorium

This thing is starting to look REALLY nice, especially at night. It has all new lighting and the exterior restoration turned out great. At night, you can see inside at the arched ceiling and I've noticed some jumbotrons. I think it's gonna be a really nice, quality facility.

The courtyard between Farrah and Foster is also looking very nice. I took a picture from Farrah this morning that I might try and post later. Either way, the clock tower is almost finished and it fits in perfectly with the Foster architecture.

BB Comer

Undergoing some sort of exterior restoration. I think all those years of nasty water raining on the building when it had the steam plant in it kinda wore away at the surface. Anyways, they're been removing and cleaning the facade for a while now, and I'm hoping they turn that glut of space into more classrooms.

Gorgas House restoration

Also progressing well. Exterior work is still being done, can't say anything about what's going on inside, though.

Marr's Spring

Looking really nice. They've repaired the spring's waterfall dam and spillway structure, and they've created new paths and sidewalks (no more ugly asphalt). It's all lit up at night. Unfortunately, they're still working on it, so you can't get anywhere near it at the moment.

[Electrical Porpoise]

Originally Posted by tredici

Foster Auditorium

This thing is starting to look REALLY nice, especially at night. It has all new lighting and the exterior restoration turned out great. At night, you can see inside at the arched ceiling and I've noticed some jumbotrons. I think it's gonna be a really nice, quality facility.

I know Ive mentioned it before but I would love for the men to play a cup cake out-of-conference game in there. Or one game against anyone.

[atlanta68]

Tredici,

If able, would you take some pics of some of these projects? I don't get to return to campus much. In particular, would be great to see Phase 3 of the SEC. That area is going to be so beautiful when finally completed. Hard to believe that side of campus has changed so much. I remember when it was Fugly. Thanks!

[cityscapes]

Originally Posted by tredici

University Blvd Repaving

The repaving is finished, we're just waiting on the new striping. Good news! They're including bike lanes!

I'm not really pleased with the paving job they did. Its well done and all, but it should have gone all the way to the overpass where University goes over McFarland which is very poorly paved. I drive that stretch of road almost everyday and its in horrible shape, not a good first impression of campus to those coming from that direction.

Also, are there any plans to put the utilities underground? The new nursing school looks amazing but the power lines are distracting.

[SpawnOfVulcan]

Originally Posted by cityscapes

I'm not really pleased with the paving job they did. Its well done and all, but it should have gone all the way to the overpass where University goes over McFarland which is very poorly paved. I drive that stretch of road almost everyday and its in horrible shape, not a good first impression of campus to those coming from that direction.

Also, are there any plans to put the utilities underground? The new nursing school looks amazing but the power lines are distracting.

Well, you have to take into consideration that resurfacing of concrete can be very expensive, and given that there has been a lot of shifting with those slabs in recent years, I'd gander to say that it's more than the University can afford at the time. They're not gonna replace that surface with asphalt, as it would be ruined a year or two after it was finished. Concrete is a good surface, so hopefully they'll find some way to repair it in the coming years.

I don't know if there are, though I'm sure it's on their list of things to do. I think we've been over this in this thread before, but I think the main problem is who owns the land between the main part of campus and the nursing building. It would seem that someone else owns the land between 2nd Ave and the nursing building. I don't know for sure though.