Armstrong Student Center Renovations Near Completion

By Kelly Wagner

Miami University journalism Student

The second phase of the Armstrong Student Center renovation at Miami University is scheduled to be fully complete by the Fall of 2017.

In 2009, Miami University announced that it would be building the Armstrong Student Center in two phases after the ASG (Associated Student Government) voted for a new student center.

Building Armstrong was a complicated undertaking. Its creation meant transforming Gaskill Hall, Rowan Hall, and Culler Hall into what is now Armstrong. It also required the renovation of Kreger Hall so that it could house the Physics department while the renovations were taking place.

Armstrong Student Center Director Katie Wilson says students were advocating for a new student center to be built on campus beginning in the late 1990's.

https://soundcloud.com/kelly_w...

[Katie Wilson gives a quick overview of how the Armstrong Student Center came to be.]

Using Facilities On Hand

Cody Powell is the Associate Vice President of Facilities Planning and Operations at Miami University. He says, during planning, it became clear the money wasn't there to build a new facility from the ground up.

"When we went through the initial design process of what it would take we learned the cost of building a new building like that would go beyond way more than we could afford," Powell says. "The nice outcome of that was that we could use three current buildings."

Phase I consisted of renovating Gaskill and Rowan Hall to create a space for food, pavilions, study rooms, and offices. These two halls were merged together with a new central structure that was completed in early 2014.

There were several different components to Phase II. Kreger Hall, which had not been open for several years, was renovated, using state funding, so that it could house the Physics department, previously located in Culler Hall. This paved the way for renovations of Culler Hall so that it could be joined to the new Armstrong facility.

When both Phase I and Phase II are complete, what were once Gaskill, Rowan, and Culler halls will make up the finished Armstrong Student Center.

According Wilson, Phase II isn’t a renovation or addition to Phase I, but is "a completion of an originally designed project."

The Armstrong Student Center construction was split into two phases to allow students to use Phase I while Phase II is being finished.

"It has always been part of the plan to provide that part of the space [Phase II]," Powell says, "but we spread it out to give students the benefit of using the first phase while working on the other second phase."

Cost Of Construction

The cost of Phase I was 53.1 million dollars. The cost of Phase II is predicted to be 24 million. Wilson says the funding for the project came from a number of places.

"The money comes from a combination of gifts, and redirected funding from the Rec Center fee, which pays the debt," Wilson says. "The operation additional expense is also payed by the 10 dollar increase to the student fee that most students will have going into next fall."

"A big portion of the funding is from gifts," Powell adds, "as we have with a lot of projects that impact academic building we do use some local funds that we collect from operating budgets."

The project's costs have led some to wonder if the expense and the loss of academic buildings to make way for the center is worth it.

"I think anyone who says it’s not worth it should be asked, 'Do they know what additional amenities they are going to get?' A lot of students that I have talked to have spoken very highly of the additional value they think it will provide them," says Wilson.

A Place To Relax

The finished Armstrong Student Center is designed to be a place for students to learn and to relax. Wilson believes that having fun components added to the center is beneficial for students.

“We have pretty serious stuff in here, food, large event space and study space, and offices. Most students centers I’ve ever been to have something that is more fun.”

One element of fun is the Red Zone, which will include pool tables, air hockey, and a coffee shop inspired by the one at Miami’s campus in Luxembourg.

Wilson says the design of the student center has been informed by what students would like to see on campus.

"We have been working on a little history project and have been digging up some of the documents from ASG that asks for the student center and a lot of them do bring up, ‘We need a place with pool tables’ so all of those were in the design because they were asked for by students."

In addition to the more the fun and relaxing elements, what will be the student center's east wing will also feature the Career Services Center, meeting rooms for the Joslin Student Center Chamber and other student organizations which can hold up to 88 people.

"The objective there is to create space that is very student specific," Powell says. "There is a lot of value to the student center in terms of gathering space and having space where different programs and student organizations have more opportunity to meet and gather then they had before and this new addition is going to add to that.”

Students Wait To See Benefits

Though Miami officials think the finished Armstrong Student Center will improve student experience on campus and believe the cost is well worth it, some students are taking a "wait and see" approach to the renovations.

"I don't usually use Armstrong so I guess it's kind of pointless to me," says Morgan Bertsch, a junior at Miami University studying Strategic Communications and Professional Writing. "I know they are adding study rooms which is good but what they really need is more seating because there is never anywhere to sit when I go there. I wish I was more aware of what I am paying for this to happen."

Sophomore Psychology major Abby Hart believes that the completion of the Armstrong Student Center will be good for underclassmen, but not not necessarily for older students.

"I use it a lot as a sophomore and a lot when I was a freshmen, but I probably won't use it as much as an upperclassmen. It will probably look impressive for students looking at Miami but I don't think it will make that much of an impact on the number of applicants," says Hart.

To get project updates, visit Miami’s website.

Photo: Phase II of the Armstrong Student Center, which will be the facility's east wing, is surrounded by construction fencing. -- Photo by Kelly Wagner