Third Street structure would hold more classrooms and faculty offices

Change may be in store as the IU board of trustees gather at IU-Kokomo Thursday and Friday to decide whether to build a new classroom and faculty office building and discuss other University issues. \nThe site, located at 802 E. Third St., is currently occupied by a two-story home built in 1910 that provides office space for mathematics department graduate students. It is also listed as "contributing" on the University's 1996 survey of historic structures.\n"(IU) wants to make the best possible use for the University for that parcel of land," said IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre. He added that officials are looking into moving the building in order to make way for the new $3 million structure.\nThe proposal is for a three-story, 30,000-square-foot building, which will hold classrooms and biology labs on the first floor and mostly offices and conference space above.\nTrustees are asked to authorize a "design-build" approach where the design is part of the bid for the structure.\n"Each builder comes up with a design that is then judged by both aesthetics and price," MacIntyre said. \nUsually the University drafts the plans, but for a smaller project, the "design-build" approach is considered more efficient, he said.\nBecause the new building will be on the north side of the street, MacIntyre said, "the architecture can reflect the fraternity and sorority and other classroom buildings," rather than the monumental limestone buildings on the south side and in the crescent area.\nThe first residents will be from the department of communication and culture, which currently resides in Mottier Hall in Ashton Center -- a building slated to be torn down. The department will eventually move into a new humanities building the University is planning.\nAlso on the agenda, said Lynn Coyne, assistant vice president for University real estate and economic development, is a request for financial assistance for the renovation and rebuilding of the Beta Theta Pi chapter house under a program called the "Indiana Plan."\nRequests of this type were "very common when building fraternities and sororities on the north side of Third Street," Coyne said, but it's more unusual these days.\nCommittee meetings are Thursday and Friday morning and a business meeting will be held Friday afternoon. Topics also include other real estate matters such as an educational addition to the Wylie House Museum and further details on the Henderson-Atwater Parking Garage Project. There will be a presentation on IU's integrated image strategy, planning for IU's 2007-09 state funding request and a discussion of policies associated with the mission differentiation of IU's campuses.