Among the four major construction projects on campus, the Barton Lacrosse Stadium and the Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management School are behind schedule, while the Kappa Sigma Franternity and Craig Hall are moving along smoothly.

The total cost of the four major projects on campus is $40 million.

The Barton Lacrosse stadium, which was to be completed in March, is now scheduled to be open sometime in the next two or three months.

While the stadium is still under construction the field and stands have already been used for games. However, some of the less essential aspects of the stadium like the concession stands and press box have yet to be finished. The cost of the stadium when completed will be $6.7 million.

The new HRTM School was originally slated to be completed in August 2005. Now the estimated grand opening for this new $17.5 million building has been pushed back to November 2005.

Jeff Bemelen, director of Facilities Management, explained that there are many reasons that can hinder construction.

“When you are starting a project you create an ideal schedule,” said Bemelen.

“However things like permit issues and unpredictable weather can cause delays.”

Bemelen commented that permit issues were part of the problem with the lacrosse stadium. Wet weather on concrete-pouring days slowed down the HRTM construction.

“Sometimes we are very close to finishing on time but we don’t want to rush the contractor,” he said. “It’s not worth having him make mistakes.”

However, two of the projects are still on schedule, the new Kappa Sigma Fraternity House and Craig Hall, which will be the new home of the Graduate School of Social Work. These two buildings are costing $3.4 million and $11.2 million respectively.

Modernizing the University of Denver campus is an expensive process.

“I’ve been here thirteen years and in that time we’ve spent about $400 million dollars,” said Bemelen.

Margaret Henry, Controller and Assistant Director, is responsible for organizing the money for the projects that Bemelen oversees. She explained that the money comes from a variety of sources.

“About 53 percent of the money comes from gifts or pledges,” she said. “Usually, there is lead or naming grant.”

An example of a lead or naming grant was given by the Newman family which helped to create The Robert and Judi Newman Center for Performing Arts. The other 47 percent of the money spent on the campus over the years came from a variety of places and 20 percent came from bonds.

“Basically that means we borrowed it,” she said. 17 percent came from internal sources, which include revenue from the bookstore and tuition. The final 10 percent came from the sale of the university’s Park Hill campus which was the home of DU’s former law school.

Henry explained that each year DU examines its needs for facility up grades. Then a fundraising campaign is formed to raise the necessary capital. Bemelen is quick to note, however, that Facilities Management only demolishes buildings when it’s cost prohibitive to do otherwise.

“I think that some buildings on campus were built as planned obsolescence, meaning they were meant to be used for 50 or 75 years and then torn down,” he said. Some examples he gave in this category were Columbine Hall and the Skyline Halls.

A few projects slated for next year include landscaping work on Carnegie Green and the Harper Humanities Garden. Bemelen also hopes to break ground in January on a new $34 million residence hall that would replace the Pioneer and Skyline apartments near Johnson-MacFarlene Hall.

DU students have extremely mixed feelings about the on-going construction. Andrew Nguyen, a freshman, was asked what he thought about the construction.

“It kind of sucks. I live in halls and wake up at 7 every morning; not because I want to but because of the construction,” he replied. Nguyen completely changed his tune, however, when discussing the completed projects on campus.

“Oh man, they’re great,” he said. “The law building is a really nice place and when they’re done it’s totally worth it.”

This ambivalence about the campus construction is common amongst DU students. One thing students are not ambivalent about is future construction on campus.

“Man, DU’s rich,” said Nguyen. “They’re always going to build new buildings.”

However, two of the projects are still on schedule, the new Kappa Sigma Fraternity House and Craig Hall, which will be the new home of the Graduate School of Social Work. These two buildings are costing $3.4 million and $11.2 million, respectively.

Modernizing the University of Denver campus is an expensive process.

“I’ve been here thirteen years and in that time we’ve spent about $400 million dollars,” said Bemelen.

Margaret Henry, controller and assistant director, is responsible for organizing the money for the projects that Bemelen oversees. She explained that the money comes from a variety of sources.

“About 53 percent of the money comes from gifts or pledges,” she said. “Usually, there is a lead or naming grant.”

An example of a lead or naming grant was given by the Newman family which helped to create The Robert and Judi Newman Center for Performing Arts. The other 47 percent of the money spent on the campus over the years came from a variety of places and 20 percent came from bonds.

“Basically that means we borrowed it,” she said. Seventeen percent came from internal sources, which include revenue from the bookstore and tuition. The final ten percent came from the sale of the university’s Park Hill campus which was the home of DU’s former law school.

Henry explained that each year DU examines its needs for facility upgrades. A fundraising campaign is then formed to raise the necessary capital. Bemelen is quick to note, however, that Facilities Management only demolishes buildings when it’s cost prohibitive to do otherwise.

“I think that some buildings on campus were built as planned obsolescence, meaning they were meant to be used for 50 or 75 years and then torn down,” he said. Some examples he gave were Columbine Hall and the Skyline Halls.

A few projects slated for next year include landscaping work on Carnegie Green and the Harper Humanities Garden. Bemelen also hopes to break ground in January on a new $34 million residence hall that would replace the Pioneer and Skyline apartments near Johnson-MacFarlene Hall.

DU students have mixed feelings about the on-going construction. Andrew Nguyen, freshman, was asked what he thought about the construction.

“It kind of sucks. I live in halls and wake up at seven every morning, not because I want to but because of the construction,” he said. Nguyen changed his tune, however, when discussing the completed projects on campus.

“Oh man, they’re great,” he said. “The law building is a really nice place and when they’re done it’s totally worth it.”

This ambivalence about the campus construction is common amongst DU students. One thing students are not ambivalent about is future construction on campus.

“They’re always going to build new buildings,” said Nguyen.