With summer looming large, the campus will soon be filled not with the talk, laughter, and sounds of students, but with the noise of machinery. Gone will be the sound of feet walking on concrete, and instead the noise of concrete being ripped up.
Over the summer of 2011, NKU is preparing a number of projects designed to improve campus.
Larry Blake, Assistant Vice President of Facilities Management, acknowledged the difficulty of doing this construction during summer classes.
“It’s going to be difficult,” he said. But he added, “The level of traffic we have typically in the summer, I don’t think it’s going to be a big impact.”

Of all the projects this summer, the biggest, according to Blake is the renovation of the main plaza. Stretching from Founders Hall all the way to the University Center, the biggest project will see all of the concrete ripped up and replaced.

“The concrete is so bad we just can’t fix it anymore,” Blake said. In its place will be more grass and sitting areas for students to enjoy. The other two parts of the plaza project involve the area behind the University Center, going towards Lucas Administrative Center, and the plaza above Corbett Theatre. Both of these repairs are being made due to water leaks which affect the offices in Lucas and the theatre itself.

Other projects on tap for this summer include renovations to lecture halls in both Landrum Hall and Albright Health Center. Landrum’s lecture halls will have their seating spaced out, resulting in a 20-25% loss of seating.

The University Drive Garage will be shut down all summer for repairs. It is scheduled to re-open just before the start of fall term. Blake said this was one project that had to happen, because of the condition of the garage.

“It’s leaking,” he said. “It’s got a lot of issues that we have to deal with.” Plan for the garage include resurfacing it, re-drawing the line on the new surface, and putting in Blake said the current system is becoming hard to maintain, thus the upgrade. Also a bike path/walkway will be built and will run from Callahan Hall to the Bank of Kentucky Center parking lot, allowing easier flow of foot traffic.

For students on campus this summer for class, emails will be sent to the entire student body with a link for a map which will show students how to navigate campus once the construction begins.

Story by Sean Dressman