Construction
WED SEPT. 7, 2011 @iowastatedaily facebook.com/ iowastatedaily
Opinion:
SMARTPHONES ENTER COMPETITION page 6
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Photo courtesy of ISU Recreation Services Original design plans show what the addition to State Gym will look like upon its completion next spring. Mike Giles, director of Recreation Services, said the $46.2 million project at State Gym will make up for delays that have resulted from the construction process.
Worth the wait’
State Gym renovations will be complete after 3 years of work
FUN FOOD IDEAS TO KEEP COOL page 12
State:
GSB selects new City Council liaison The Government of the Student Body has selected a new City Council liaison for the 2012 school year. Tor Finseth, the new liaison said he “absolutely [loves] it. It is the greatest experience.” Finseth is a fifth-year senior in aerospace engineering and he previously participated in many projects on GSB. He was originally a GSB senator. Finseth obtained his position as City Council liaison by going through an election process. The City Council liaison is a “communicator between the city [of Ames] and the university,” Finseth explained. With nearly 30,000 students at Iowa State University, students make up nearly half of the population of the city of Ames. Communication is vital between the city and the university, otherwise it would be impossible to establish a grounded city. “Tor’s position with the City Council is critical to maintain good relationships between [ISU] students and the city. We are fortunate to have a City Council that cares so much about the students and wants to see the best results, for not only the city, but also the student citizens,” said GSB President Dakota Hoben. GSB needs a liaison to allow “us to have a clear and open dialogue with the City Council on issues facing students and also provide a student voice when it comes to making decisions in Ames that affect the student body,” Hoben said. Macy Sarbacker, Daily Staff Writer
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By Jake.Lovett @iowastatedaily.com
Mike Giles is always thinking about State Gym. If the plans that line the walls of his office aren’t indication enough, maybe his inside-out knowledge of the facility is. He knows nearly every inch of the 159,000-squarefoot facility, even the ones that aren’t finished yet. In 2008, the students of Iowa State University — many of whom have since graduated or moved on — voted to approve the $52.8 million upgrades to State Gym and Beyer Hall at a cost of $20 per student per semester for the two years of construction and $107 per student per semester for 23 years following the facility’s opening. Now, more than three years after its initial approval, students are anxious, awaiting the project’s completion. The director of Recreation Services has had questions thrown his way for more than a month now about the status of Iowa State’s new fitness hub, and he’s always ready with an answer. He understands disappointment about the facility not being open, and he’s more ready than anyone to show off what will soon be the crown jewel of his department.
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Photo: Gene Pavelko/Iowa State Daily New hardwood flooring is just one of the changes to the old basketball courts in State Gym.
Construction keeps students out By Cristobal.Matibag @iowastatedaily.com
Delays keep tenants from Grove complex
T-shirts promoting the new Ames apartment complex The Grove bear the slogan “Get a room.” But since late August, some students hoping to do just that have had to make other arrangements. For weeks, construction delays have kept would-be tenants from moving into their apartments. Representatives of Campus Crest Communities, Inc., the Charlotte, N.C.-based company that built, owns and manages The Grove, originally told leaseholders that all rooms would be ready Aug. 20. But in a Sept. 1 email, Campus Crest Senior Account Executive Jason Chudoba wrote that 22 students were still awaiting completion of their rooms. The same email projected that the “new target date” for the completion of all rooms in
the complex would be between Monday and Saturday of this week. In an Aug. 31 phone interview, Chudoba said the company was waiting for City of Ames building inspectors to grant it occupancy permits for rooms in four Grove buildings. “We’re down to the wire and we’re just waiting for those inspections to fall in place,” Chudoba said. Last Saturday, a construction worker on site at The Grove, who asked not to be named in this article, said all inspections he was aware of had occurred on schedule. He attributed the delays to “weather issues” including “massive amounts of rain” that hit Ames this past spring. He also said Buildings 7 through 10 in the complex were the only four on which construction still had to be finished. He said work on all the rooms would be complete this Saturday.
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