Locked away behind signs and heavy doors are some significant renovations currently occupying Blackburn College’s construction crews.
Some students have no idea what the progress is like inside of these buildings, or why the change was needed in the first place. With large sums of money such as the $300,000 budget for the Claire Jaenke Alumni and Visitor Center, students need to know what changes are occurring around them.
This past summer saw the completion of the Writer’s Block in the Lumpkin Learning Commons, and the continuation of several other projects taken on by the New Construction department. The Lumpkin renovations led to a much nicer area for students to study and relax in a quiet environment. The Lumpkin renovations coincided with the finishing of the remodeling of the Bothwell building. The Performing Arts department received a full makeover from the classrooms all the way up to a new stage equipped with new light, sound and stage systems.
The larger renovation project is the old Anderson building, which lies between Graham Hall and Ludlum, into the new Claire Jaenke Alumni and Visitor Center. The Anderson building has remained unused since its closing in 2002, until Blackburn’s leadership team devised a plan to utilize the space after renovation. This concept was then funded by the “Creating Opportunity!” fundraising campaign and construction began. Student workers handled initial demolition for the interior and a portion of the reconstruction. Currently several professional crews are operating inside of the building in order to facilitate speedy construction. The end plans for the building include creating new offices for Institutional Advancement, a large conference hall and a general meeting space for both Blackburn alumni and students to enjoy. Several aesthetic changes are planned to take place as well starting by modernizing the building with new windows and refurbishing the patio. Fresh landscaping will finish off the remodeling of the building.
The third renovation is inside of the Woodward center of Dawes Gymnasium and focuses on a new fitness center being added to campus. Woodward’s renovations involve the main hallways, lobby and the old pool area. The majority of the renovation involves the complete transformation of the pool area into a new aerobics fitness center since the pool area has been drained and unused for several years. The halls and the lobby area are going through a general refurbishment to improve the aesthetic and quality of the Woodward building. New students can expect to see the changes within this year with the lobby and office areas, and hallways estimated to be finished in mid December, and the fitness area is scheduled for completion in February 2017.