The Board of Regents
approved a $38.7 million Student Recreation and Activities Center, with an expected completion date of fall 2014.
Construction on the 176,000-square-foot facility begins early next year. Concurrent renovations to the existing recreation center will take place as the new facility expands and encompasses the old.
“Increased enrollment put a strain on the existing facility,” said Tara Parker, department director of sports and recreation.
Since 2008, the student body and SGA have been involved with the new recreation center project. Focus groups, surveys and meetings were conducted to discuss the expansion design and cost.
“The survey results were always overwhelmingly supportive of the need for a new recreation center,” said Michael Sanseviro, dean of student success. “Also, a formal presentation and vote was made to the Student Activity Fee committee, which is required before a fee can be submitted to the president and ultimately to the Board of Regents for approval.”
In November 2010 the committee approved a $35 increase in the existing student recreation fee and distributed $32 of the Student Activities Fee to the student recreation expansion project.
“Students are becoming more health conscious and the current facilities are simply not adequate to meet the demand,” said Sanseviro. ”As the third largest school in Georgia, we had one of the lowest per square foot availability of recreation space in the country.”
The center is named after Dr. Betty L. Siegel, president emeritus of KSU. Siegel was president of KSU for 25 years from 1981 until May 2006. When she began her presidency, KSU had 4,000 students and 15 undergraduate degrees. By the time she left in 2006, KSU had more than 18,000 students and 55 graduate and undergraduate programs.
“I am deeply honored to have this new facility named for me,” Siegel said in a KSU press release. “For the 25 years I served as president of KSU, I enjoyed the unwavering support of family, the students, staff and administration at KSU and this extraordinary community. I share this moment with them all.”
Hughes Group Architects provide concept design, Gleeds USA is program manager, and Hardin Construction Co. will be the general contractor. Cooper Carry, the architect on record, was the architect for the $56 million Prillaman Hall Health Science Building that opened Aug. 5, 2010.
With a growing student body and awareness of the importance of health and wellness for college students, Sanseviro said, “KSU students deserve to have the same level of facilities as their peers at other institutions around our state and this building will truly help transform that entire area of campus.”
