COLLEGIATETIMES Life goes under construction in...
thursday september 25, 2008 blacksburg, va.
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FROM NORTH MAIN TO MCCOMAS, BLACKSBURG IS THE SITE OF MANY BUILDING PROJECTS. IN THIS ISSUE WE HIGHLIGHT A FEW OF THESE ENDEAVORS, BOTH ON CAMPUS AND OFF. BELOW, WE LOOK INTO MAIN STREET’S UPCOMING RENOVATION. STORY BY ZACH CRIZER.
Downtown Blacksburg will soon undergo major changes in an attempt to make North Main Street a safer, more attractive area, though some area business owners refuse to buy into the current proposals. As approved, the renovation plan for North Main Street will cost $10 million. Specific outcomes of the plan would include a roundabout at the intersection of North Main and Prices Fork Road, Old Main Street being closed to through traffic, and the restriction of North Main Street to two lanes, with a stoplight at the Alumni Mall intersection.
news REGISTRATION ENDING SOON Voter registration for the upcoming presidential election ends Oct. 6 in Virginia. Virginia voters can review election information and check their registration status, including their currently registered location, by selecting ‘voter information’ then ‘voter registration status’ online at: www.voterinfo.sbe.virginia.gov/
weather PARTLY SUNNY high 69, low 49
corrections “Female cadets share trouble, triumph,” (CT, Sept. 24) reported incorrect numbers regarding the size of the Corps of Cadets. The female cadet-to-total cadet ratios were incorrectly reported as being 7.17 percent for 2005 and 8.05 percent for 2008. The correct figures are: Female Cadet to Corps Strength: >>2005: 104/758 (13.7%) >>2006: 98/732 (13.4%) >>2007: 92/710 (12.9%) >>2008: 90/704 (12.8%)
TOMORROW’S CT Look inside the practices of Blacksburg’s Muslim community during Ramadan.
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An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903 105th year issue 86
“One of the objectives is to unify that district. One of the things we know is that when people see a uniform theme along a street they don’t think it is as far (between locations),” Sherman said. Shade trees and brick walkways that are currently found on portions of Main Street are among elements of the theme that Sherman hopes to extend all the way up North Main Street. Sherman said the project is geared to enhance the downtown area that will soon be adjacent to the planned Center for the Arts on Alumni Mall. “The goal of course is to attract more and more people into the downtown area to create a greater variety of business and retail opportunities,” Sherman said. “We know there are
McComas to expand facilities BECCA THOMAS
ct news reporter The typical size for university recreational facilities is 10 square feet for every student on campus, said Chris Wise, Virginia Tech’s director of recreation sports. By this logic, Tech’s facilities should be roughly 280,000 square feet. But War Memorial gym contains about 90,000 square feet. Add in McComas Hall’s roughly 61,000 square feet of recreational space and Tech has just over half the hypothetically necessary space. The problem of overcrowded weight machines and treadmills may soon be alleviated in McComas Hall, though, in the near future, as a project has been proposed that add considerably to the size of the gym. Though the planning process has now been ongoing for close to a year, there are still more approval meetings to go. “We have to go through a couple of committees in the state, and a hopeful goal will be to start construction this summer or fall,” Wise said. The biggest need in McComas is cardio and weight room space, according to Wise. There are currently 44 cardio machines in McComas, said David Shuster, assistant director of facilities and informal recreation. After construction, the projected number of cardio machines —treadmills, ellipticals and bikes — would go up by about 100. “There are also five bench presses at McComas right now,” Shuster said. “With the construction we would like to have 12 to 15 total.” The biggest addition to the facility would be to the back of the current building. The renovation calls for a new corridor of offices there,
see NORTH MAIN, page two
Dining to expand hours GORDON BLOCK
ct news reporter
ROY T. HIGASHI/SPPS
The facade of McComas Hall has been undergoing reconstruction to deal with a series of leaks. The space behind the hall will soon host a variety of expanded gym facilities. Wise said. There would be a new control desk, and students would be able to enter a new hallway that would take them to the new cardio/fitness area. Hughes Group Architects, located in Sterling, Va., has been working with Tech to design and layout potential plans for the additional space in McComas. “They specialize in rec centers and have been under contract with the university for about a year,” Wise said. “They have provided schematic designs and determined where things should go, the inside and outside look, and they came back with a design that we like and our budget allowed.” The current projected budget for this project is $13 million total, with $8 million going toward construction alone, Wise said. Between $700,000 and $1 million will go toward furnishing inside the buildings for desks, machines and other equipment. The recreation fee will increase in order to pay
and operate the facility upon completion. The scaffolding located on the outside of McComas right now is unrelated to the construction. Because of leaks in the facade of the building, workers have been repairing the outside of McComas, Shuster said. Other changes in planning for McComas include adding a multipurpose room to host employee meets and intramural events such as hearts and darts, converting a room dedicated to spinning and cycling classes, and potentially sectioning off some of the old weight rooms for specialized classes, such as women in the weight room. “This is something that the students have deserved,” Wise said. “Students at Tech are active and healthy, and there has been a clear demand for the facility. Once it is in place it will be a nice addition to campus life for students who want to continue staying healthy and active.”
Virginia Tech Dining Services is racing to combat the massive congestion that hit dining halls campuswide this semester. One solution to this issue will be to open more dining halls on the weekends, beginning in October. Dining Services intends to implement this plan, which received approval Sept. 23 and will allow for the operation of Hokie Grill on Saturdays and D2 for brunch and dinner on Sundays, the weekend of either Oct. 18 or Oct. 25. “So many people went in (on meal plans) that we were able to take the revenue that was generated from the extra people, extra sales, and use that to fund these two weekend days,” said Rick Johnson, director of housing and dining services. Johnson said that this is just one aspect of the solution to alleviate problems that Dining Services faces with serving the student body. These problems stem from a substantial increase in the number of students buying meal plans. “We have relatively few facilities for the number of boarding students that we have. We now think we have the largest number of board plans in the country,” said Rick Johnson, director of Housing and Dining Services. There are currently 18,500 board meal plans, an increase of 1,200 from the previous school year. This number came as a major surprise to Johnson. “We hit 18,300 total customers last year, and we were
see DINING, page two
Middle school’s future remains in limbo SHANNON AUD
ct news staff writer
coming up
It will be completed in 2013, and will be funded by a combination of federal, state and town money. City Council member Tom Sherman said the plan grew out of several areas of interest. “It relates to several objectives that have been the focus of four studies of the area,” Sherman said. “Part of it is to revitalize, or upgrade the central business district, extending that district to the north. We also want to make it more pedestrian friendly. We have two or three of the most dangerous spots in Blacksburg right there.” Sherman said one major goal is to give downtown Blacksburg a common theme to encourage people to explore the entire city, not just one stretch.
The old Blacksburg Middle School structure on South Main Street remains deserted, though it has not hosted classes since a new secondary school opened for students in 2002. The reasons behind the vacancy are numbered, along with the dissenting opinions on how to handle the property. However, town leaders have agreed that the value of the property and potential it has will play a significant role in its future purpose. Blacksburg’s town council, school board and town members are all important players in this decision. The number of people vying to be heard creates a stalemate, as each party waits for the decision of the other. The school board owns the middle school, and feels the need to reassess the property. They are contemplating reopening the building as a school or selling it for a new purpose. “It may be appropriate for it to be another school because Blacksburg is growing,” said Donald Langrehr, a
town council member. “The schools are becoming overcrowded, and that property is in a central location. We’re hoping the decision will come in soon, but we are not holding our breath, either.” Recently, the groups have discussed planning an international design competition for a new use of the property. If this plan is put into action, the school board will sell the property to the competition winner. This is seen as compromise, as the town would benefit from the profit of the sale and the townspeople generally favor a civic use for the building. The design competition would foster many ideas for new uses of the property that could benefit the citizens of the town. The project was scheduled to start a month from now, but was put on hold as the school board expressed concerns over the growth of the Blacksburg population and the need for a new school. “(The school board) is wisely stopping for a moment to catch their breath and reassess the situation,” said Leslie Hager-Smith, vice mayor of Blacksburg. “It shows real wisdom on their part to see how quickly popula-
tion is growing. Many ideas for the use of the building were put in place years ago, and they have the courage to reassess. It’s exactly what a good governing body does.” The town council is open to both options. They support the design competition and have voted to appropriate money for this project. “We already have a pretty good idea of what might come out of the competition,” Hager-Smith said. “Public opinion favors a civic use for that location — like a school or park — because it’s in the heart of downtown Blacksburg. It also makes sense for the schools to look at the data.” The town governing body does not want to do anything the school board is not ready for. The design competition will not commence until the decision to sell is absolute. “We are stepping back and letting the school board look at the details,” said Blacksburg Mayor Ron Rordam. “Personally I have always thought a school in the middle of downtown is a wonderful idea. I have no problem with that. We have offered to work with them to help them maintain it and
PETER VELZ/COLLEGIATE TIMES
Blacksburg Middle School has remained largely unused since 2002. have a partnership if that is their decision. We do have some overcrowded schools.” It is possible the decision will come soon, although the parties speculate it will take at least several months before a final measure is decided upon. There may be temporary uses for the property while the school board contemplates the best course of action. “Right now, everything is kind of on hold until the school board makes a definite statement,” said Paul Lancaster, member of the Old Blacksburg Middle
School Transition Committee. “In the meanwhile, it may be possible to put in recreational fields until they make the decision. The main thing would be use of the football stadium. The stands would be torn down to make other soccer or baseball fields.” For now though, the land will remain occupied by the older, vacant structure. The school board will be meeting several times in coming months to discuss the next move. “Bottom line, nothing is going to happen for a while,” Lancaster said.
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