Campus Growth & Change

Watch the campus undergo a number of physical changes over the next few years as UIndy continues to focus on providing the highest-quality academic, recreational and social experience for our students. The first of these campus developments is a new, 48,000-square-foot addition to Schwitzer Student Center designed to greatly expand and improve dining and gathering space.

An overhaul of the library, a new residence hall, and a student athletics and recreational facility also are on the drawing board, while the chief thoroughfare through campus, Hanna Avenue, is scheduled for a major safety and design upgrade.

Schwitzer Student Center Expansion and Makeover

Renovations on the interior of Schwitzer are in their final phases and the remodeled space is already being put to good use. The dining hall was open for business on Move-in Day and the new UIndy Grill, which includes a Sub Hub, Fiesta Grill and Streets Grill, is also up and running. Construction on the Schwitzer addition is well underway and on schedule to be complete by January. Photos show the new Schwitzer interior and artist renderings detail how the addition will look from the outside. Check the Project Photo Album for more pictures of the remodeling and construction process.

Target completion: Interior makeover by Fall Semester 2008, new addition to be complete by January 2009.
General contractor: F.A. Wilhelm Construction Co. Inc.
Architects: Odle McGuire Shook

Architectural Drawings

What we're gaining:

• A much more open dining hall with rectangular tables and more serving areas that are accessible from all directions. The Ober side dining rooms will be gone, replaced by stations for drinks, salad bar and desserts. The kitchen area will flow into the dining area, and seating capacity in the hall will be increased by 100.
• A pizza shop for quick pick-up orders located where Streets Corner is now. The grill and coffee shop will share the large space where limited seating for The Perk is now located. New seating for the combined grill and coffee shop will be capable of accommodating 75-100 diners, compared to about 50 at present, and will be located in what is now the atrium.
• A new student lounge created out of the current President's and Trustees' dining rooms, and furnished with the soft couches and chairs from the atrium.
• New, curved walls with glass to set off the current recreational area and provide a sound buffer from the dining areas.
• A large dining hall for special events in the new wing that will subdivide in several ways for maximum flexibility. The building addition also will contain new, larger President's and Trustees' dining rooms, each with partitions for greater seating flexibility. Initially, only the main floor of the addition will be finshed.

What we're losing:

• The small parking lot at the northeast end of Schwitzer where the addition is being built. A temporary lot has been created on the site of the old tennis courts northeast of the student center, and a walkway has been installed from the parking area to the Ruth Lilly Center for Health and Fitness. When the Schwitzer addition is complete, the temporary parking lot will be refurbished into a permanent parking lot.
• Temporarily, the park northeast of the student center that contains the outdoor volleyball and basketball courts. When all construction is complete, the park will be reopened with new walking paths and basketball and volleyball courts.

What's staying the same:

• The first-floor mailbox area and mail pick-up window at the north end of Schwitzer
• Most of the basement, except for connections to the new addition
• Most of the second floor, except for changes at the entrance of the Career Services Office

Last Update: 08/10/2008

Residence Hall

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new residence hall will be held at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11. The new building will be located east of New Hall, on the current location of the softball field. Plenty of parking for the hall will also be created, and plans are under way to relocate the softball field elsewhere on campus.

The design and features of the new residence hall have been based on input from students. The four-story building will have 160 single-occupant rooms, each with private access and a bath shared with just one other room. Every floor will have lounges, and two-story atriums on the first and third floors will have overhanging balconies on the second and fourth floors, providing a very open feel.

The hall will be built using Autoclaved Aerated Concrete block, a “green” product made from recycled material that creates an energy-efficient structure that is both fire-resistant and quiet. UIndy was an early adopter of this material; Central Hall was one of the first buildings in the nation to be constructed of AAC block.

Architects: Design Collaborative of Ft. Wayne, Indiana
General Contractor: Sheil Sexton of Indianapolis
Last Update: 09/05/2008

Krannert Memorial Library Upgrade

The university is currently reviewing proposals for the library project and hopes to choose a firm by the end of July to begin working on plans in the fall. Once the plans are in place, work may begin as soon as next spring.
Last Update: 07/28/2008

Hanna Avenue Improvements

The City of Indianapolis is planning a significant upgrade to the stretch of Hanna Avenue between East Street and Carson Avenue, which includes the UIndy campus.

The University will invest about $2 million for the Shelby Street-to-State Avenue section of the roadway to reroute unsightly power lines and provide extensive landscaping.

The city is expected to begin work on the roadway in 2009, although a specific start date has not been provided. IPL is beginning the process of rerouting the power lines off Hanna so that when the road work is started, there will be no interruption in service.
Last Update: 07/28/2008

Parking

A study committee headed by Michael Braughton, vice president for business, is reviewing parking supply and demand on campus, and will make recommendations for improving the availability of parking.
Last Update: 1/30/2008