Ruston Daily Leader
T. Scott Boatright, Reporter

During Louisiana Tech’s Happening Event last week in Monroe, university President Dan Reneau touted more than $100 million worth of ongoing or recently-completed capital outlay construction around the school.

Drive around campus and the source of his pride is obvious — the face of the university is changing, and for the better.

Receiving top priority at the moment, according to Vice President for Student Life Jim King, is finishing up apartments on Everett Street before the fall quarter begins.

“The clock is winding down, so we’ve pretty much focused our attention there until that’s done,” King said. “Then we’ll get back to some of our other ongoing projects. We’ll have students start coming in after Labor Day (Sept. 7), and it looks like they should be finished by the time classes begin on Sept. 10.”

Tech is adding 12 new buildings housing between 30-34 students each.

“These are going to be a little different than the first two phases — the student apartments added recently on Alabama Avenue. These buildings will have greater density and more of a streetscape, courtyard kind of feel.”

The apartments are the third phase of the institution’s University Park residence hall project, aimed at adding more apartment-style room options for students who can afford them.

“They’ll be apartment-style rooms with generous space and good amenities,” King said. “They’re being designed with college students in mind and will provide good housing while also helping make a better-looking campus.”

Work is also ongoing at Tech’s old visual arts building, which will soon house the school’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation building.

“The building dates back to 1927 — it was the school’s original library. We’re renovating to retain that old-look feel. There’s an arch-vault opening when you walk in that had been hidden away, but we’re going to bring that back out and turn it into a big , open, collaborative space to work on team projects.”

Tech Vice President for Research and Development Les Guice said the building’s location near the College of Business and the College of Engineering and Science is a perfect opportunity to deepen and enhance the partnership between the two colleges that created the Center for Entrepreneurship and Information Technology and to extend that collaboration productively across all colleges on campus.

He said it’s also strategically located to serve as a physical and symbolic connection to the university’s new Enterprise Campus.

“The E&I building will provide a flexible, technology-rich environment for enabling and expanding the existing collaborations and collaborative interests that already exist across disciplines on campus,” Guice said. “These collaborations will even extend to multi-institutional efforts and innovative outreach activities in the community and beyond. “In particular, we plan to facilitate and support promising partnerships between engineering, science, business and the arts that promote new innovations and entrepreneurial opportunities for students, faculty, and external stakeholders. The E&I building will be home to Tech is also preparing to begin renovations on the Lambright Intramural Center, which will add an Aquatic Center with a new pair of pools — a competitive one inside the building and a recreational one outside the complex.

“We may postpone that work a little bit until the apartments are finished, but that construction will start soon,” King said. “We came in a little over our budget ($12.5 million), so we’re taking a good look at it. We have to make sure we get those numbers right, especially with eight significant projects being worked on or already completed over the past 18 months.

“Those apartments have to be ready on time — we need them. The Lambright Center isn’t quite as time driven, so we’re going to take the opportunity to be very careful with it before starting and make sure we do it right.”