Monday, Feb. 9, 1998

HUB project moves into new phase

By KHYBER OSER
Collegian Staff Writer

The Undergraduate Student Government Office, 203 HUB, has been hot, noisy and dimly lit for two weeks now, and the inconveniences are likely to continue.

Fans are strategically positioned throughout the office, offering cool air and whirring noises to a room that lacks sunlight -- a result of the panels completely covering the windows.

The windows were covered two weeks ago in accordance with the planned HUB/Paul Robeson Cultural Center project, but the USG staff is making the best of the situation, said business director Melissa Merkel.

"There will be a positive outcome, so we'll deal with any small discrepancies such as the windows being boarded up," said Merkel (junior-marketing).

Hetzel Union Building construction photo

Construction equipment sits idle last week outside the HUB. Construction of the new HUB/Paul Robeson Cultural Center began last May and is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 1999. (Collegian Photo/Wendy L. Zeller - click for full size image)

Now that preliminary site activity has been completed, the construction phase for the HUB/Robeson Center, which will encompass an expanded HUB and a newly constructed cultural center, is set to begin. Construction is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 1999, but renovations within the HUB will not be completed until the following Fall Semester, said Craig Millar, associate vice president for student affairs.

Windows on the HUB south wall, facing the HUB lawn, will be covered for the duration of construction of the new main building that will be attached to the HUB, according to a news release.

HUB activities such as meetings, lectures and HUB Late Night will continue this semester despite the construction, Millar said. In May, the HUB Ballroom will be temporarily shut down and the HUB Fishbowl will be closed permanently to make way for a new lobby, according to the release.

Many University events will be displaced and organizations will have to look into alternative venues for their programs, said David Grebos, associate director of the HUB.

However, upon completion the center will have an expanded recreation center, a state-of-the-art auditorium and an expanded ballroom, Grebos said. The new center also will have art galleries, more study lounge space and office accommodation for 100 student organizations, according to a project fact sheet.

In addition, an atrium flanked by lounges, eateries and automatic teller machines will run parallel to the HUB lawn, Grebos said.

"It's going to be a dynamic, attractive facility and we're just going through the growing pains right now," Grebos said. "I believe we're literally going to become a 24-hour functional facility. It will be almost a commercial mall."

Built in 1955, the HUB has undergone renovations twice in 43 years. In 1974 it was renovated and in 1981 it was remodeled, according to a news release.

David Fulvio (senior-marketing and international business) said he thought the HUB was in need of improvement.

"My parents went to school here in the 70s," he said, "and the HUB has been the same since then."