New buildings, construction will greet UNL students

Four new buildings at or near completion will greet University of Nebraska-Lincoln students when they arrive on campus for the Aug. 22 start of fall semester classes.

They include the Nanoscience Metrology Facility at 16th and W streets at the north end of the Jorgensen Hall, the physics building that opened last year. The 32,000-square-foot building will provide state-of-the-art laboratories, shared research facilities and administrative space in a central location. Core facilities, equipment, labs and faculty currently are located in several buildings across campus. Half of its $13.8 million cost came from $6.9 million of federal stimulus funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The building is scheduled to be ready for occupancy in early December.

Two major practice facilities in the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics are also scheduled to open this fall. The $18.7 million Hendricks Training Complex on the south side of the Bob Devaney Sports Center on Nebraska Innovation Campus will include a new men's and women's basketball practice facility and create space for a new wrestling facility. The complex has 71,420 square feet of new construction, plus 4,000 square feet of renovation in the Devaney Center. A $4.75 million indoor practice facility for baseball and softball is scheduled to be completed in September north of Haymarket Park and east of Bowlin Stadium. The 22,000-square foot building will feature a large indoor practice area, along with restrooms and storage facilities.

Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity will move into a new house at 1645 R St. before the start of classes. The new location comes after a trade with UNL. The fraternity gave up its old house at 1345 R St. for university-owned property at 17th and R streets. UNL plans to demolish the old structure to make way for parking.

There is also a new green space near the west side of City Campus, replacing Ferguson Hall, which was demolished last year.

In addition, construction is under way for the 8,100-square foot Lied Commons addition to the Lied Center for Performing Arts. The first expansion to the 20-year-old Lied Center, it will provide event space for cultural programs, education events, smaller performances and private receptions, even while events are held in the Lied Center's main house.

There are two construction projects under way in and around Memorial Stadium. The City of Lincoln's Arena Roads project, the installation of two roundabouts on Salt Creek Roadway northwest of the stadium, temporarily limiting access to Stadium Drive and Salt Creek Roadway. The East Stadium expansion project is also under way and is scheduled for completion prior to the 2013 football season. In addition to new fan seating, skyboxes and façade, it will include 22,000 square feet of space for a new research venture that will take a revolutionary approach to investigating the link between the brain and human behavior: the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior, including a functional magnetic resonance imaging system.

WRITER: Tom Simons, University Communications, (402) 472-8514