New science facility fills urgent need

Progress is coming to Jeff Palmer's neighborhood.\nPalmer, an IU biology professor, said the school's life sciences are in desperate need of more room. In an age where the industry is booming, IU's been scraping to get by.\n"All other universities are investing heavily in it," he said. "We're bursting at the seams, we're running out of space."\nBut not for long.\nThe IU board of trustees approved a $50 million plan to build a new state-of-the-art science facility in the area behind Rawles and Myers halls Wednesday.\nThe decision was well overdue, Bloomington Chancellor Sharon Brehm said.\n"You cannot have great science without great research space," she said. "At this point, we're behind on research space."\nThe plan passed the trustees 7-1.\nTrustee Peter Obremskey, who cast the vote opposing the plan, wanted IU to concentrate all of it's new science resources in one central location near Tenth Street.\n"I would rather create a science district where the sciences can be grouped together," Obremskey said. \nTrustee Patrick Shoulders said he approved the plan because of the immediate need for more research space.\n"I heard presentations from the architects, University administration and a very unified and passionate faculty," Shoulders said.\nChemistry department chair David Clemmer said he was excited by the plan.\n"I think it's great. This allows us to expand into many new areas that we simply didn't have space for," Clemmer said. "Cutting edge science is done in the laboratory, so I expect many new opportunities for undergraduates, graduate students and doctoral students." \nThe architect chosen to oversee design for the building, Beyer Blinder Belle of New York City, has overseen the renovations of Ellis Island and Grand Central Station in New York City, and have also been tasked with the re-development of the former World Trade Center site.\nThe firm's design has "a small footprint and only minimally disrupts the wooded areas west of Ballantine and southeast of the Chemistry building," according to a statement. This effect will be accomplished by putting much of the building below ground.\nThere are also preliminary plans to move the Humanities departments out of Ballantine Hall, and into a new space most likely constructed in the area next to the HPER building. Ballantine would then be destroyed to make room for another, less architecturally intrusive space.\nShoulders said this proposal was welcomed by the board.\n"One thing is apparent, that Ballantine Hall may have outlived its usefulness," Shoulders said.\nPalmer agreed with the proposal to remove Ballantine.\n"One of the great things this University could do would be to build a new building for the Humanities, and get rid of Ballantine," Palmer said. "It is an eyesore."\nThe Humanities proposal would eliminate many parking spaces near the HPER and the Indiana Memorial Union, but this is an issue that would have to be planned out before construction could move forward.\n"Anything we do is going to have to take in consideration the critical parking needs on the campus," Shoulders said.\nFunding for the new science building will be divided, with $30 million appropriated from the state and $20 million from private donations. Funding for the Ballantine project will be considered later.\n"It is very important for this campus that all of our disciplines do well," Brehm said. "However, a key ingredient in our ability to obtain external funding lies in the success of the sciences on our campus."\nObremskey said he supports the new construction, but not the location.\n"It was the alternative the faculty wanted," said Obremskey. "I hope they made the right choice."\nThe plan is the first of a three-phase plan to increase space for research and accommodate new scientific initiatives, such as the Gill Center of Biomolecular Measurement. Phases two and three have tentative plans to be built in an area near the Geology building on Tenth Street as a part of a compromise to build some of the new lab space next to existing science buildings without losing too much of the green space in the center of campus.