The Half Acre Recreation and Wellness Center’s Phase I expected completion date has been moved from January 20 to an unspecified date in March 2015.
Kenneth Jones, the manager of Capital Projects for UW Facilities Planning, declined to comment on the cause of the delays, but said, “The project is moving steadily toward the March completion, and the crews are working diligently.”
Zaquoya Parham, a senior at the university, said he thinks the new facility will be worth the wait.
“It sucks, but you kind of have to be patient,” Parham said. “Especially with Wyoming’s weather.”
Groathouse Construction, the construction manager at-risk, has overseen the construction since ground first broke on May 13, 2013.
The Half Acre renovation consists of two phases of construction and is partially funded through student fees. The Wyoming State Legislature also appropriated $15 million for the project in 2012.
Phase I of the construction includes the reconstruction and addition on the east side of the building. Phase II will be a renovation of the historic west part of the building, and is scheduled to be completed in Summer 2015. The original plans included expanding the 99,300 square-feet building with another 35,500 square feet.
The reimagined center will have a main entrance facing the Union parking lot and will feature a climbing wall, an additional gym with two basketball/volleyball courts and an extension of the existing indoor track. The new locker rooms will have individual showers with privacy glass and steam rooms.
Pat Moran, the Campus Recreation Director, said that the aim of the project is modernization.
“The main goal of the project is taking an historic, iconic building on campus that was built in the 1920s and transforming it into a state-of-the-art recreation and wellness facility for the 21st century,” Moran said.
Improved accessibility, consisting of an elevator to every floor of the building, family bathrooms and improved showers are some of the ways the center is attempting to meet these goals.
The center is also required to spend $100,000 on artwork, with the goal to have a photograph from all 23 Wyoming counties. There will also be an etched glass landscape of Vedauwoo by local artist June Glasson in the main entrance.
