Now in progress

Alumni Center comes to life Construction on the new $4.7 million, 21,000-square-foot Alumni Center on Upper College Rd. is nearly complete. The three-story, cedar-shingled house-like structure will provide meeting and reception space and serve as a hub for the University’s 87,000 alumni. Construction of the center began in July 2003 and when complete will house Alumni Association and University Advancement staff members. Cost: $4.7 million.

Beyond the Freshman Village As the University’s first-year students continue to enjoy living in the completed Freshman Village, the Office of Residential Life is finalizing plans to have new housing and dining facilities ready for this group’s junior year. Approved by the R.I. Board of Governors for Higher Education, the projects are being funded entirely by revenue bonds.

This 800-bed, apartment-style facility will be dedicated to upperclassmen. The $65 million project and a new $16 million dining hall gets underway this spring and will be completed by the fall 2006. This will be the first new residence hall built on campus since 1971, and it also will be the largest building project in the University’s history. Cost: $66 million.

Independence and Lippitt Halls Designs are being finalized and movements are underway for the renovation and rehabilitation of Lippitt Hall, one of the University’s oldest granite structures (c. 1897) and Independence Hall (c. 1960), the building with the greatest number of classrooms on campus. Making accommodations for the hundreds of faculty, staff and programs that will be affected by these projects is the first step in the process of the improvements. Cost: $10 million.

Aquaculture Laboratory Another component of the now complete Coastal Institute projects on the Kingston and Narragansett Bay campuses is the 10,000-square-foot, $2.6 million aquaculture laboratory, now being built on the Bay Campus. Cost: $2.6 million.

The Surge II The building located at 210 Flagg Rd. that is referred to simply by its purpose, is taking on a second floor housing eleven classrooms and a language lab and a number of new tenants. The two-story “Surge” building will be home to faculty and staff of English and Languages from Independence Hall during its renovation. Cost: $2.7 million.

Roadways, parking and safety Parking has top-billing as the hot issue on many campuses nationwide. At URI this issue is heightened by increased enrollment and the University’s efforts to make the Kingston campus more foot-friendly based on approved recommendations in its master plan. This has meant a shift to some new and more well-defined parking areas, perimeter parking spaces designated for commuter and resident students, faculty, staff and visitors, and the use of remote cameras and blue lighting to augment security and safety measures. The next project will be the development of additional parking areas near the athletic complex and the continued support of the campus transit system that began its third year this fall. Cost: $7.85 million.

Ranger Hall Major rehabilitation of this 36,000 square-foot, four story granite building includes completed top-to-bottom exterior renovations, heating, electrical, and plumbing systems, and more. Interior building spaces are now being renovated. Cost: $4.6 million. .