Thursday, November 12, 1998
Morgan Center remodeling begins
CONSTRUCTION: Campus project will create office space, new hall
of fame
By Lawrence Ferchaw
Daily Bruin Staff
Another green fence means another construction project and
another detour as the J.D. Morgan Center gets an added building and
renovations to the existing structure.
The Morgan Center is the home to UCLA’s athletic department and
contains offices and an athletic hall of fame. The expansion will
create over 21,000 square feet of office space with a total project
cost of over $10 million and also see the relocation of the Bruin
statue.
The project is funded by the athletic department and external
sources, according to Ron Enholm, the project manager for the
Morgan Center construction.
A representative from the athletic department said the expansion
is necessary, despite the inconvenience it may cause to people
walking in the area.
"All our offices are not in one building," said associate
athletic director Ken Weiner. "We want to get everyone
centralized."
The construction process began two weeks ago with the
installation of a fence around part of the structure. The first of
the two phases of construction begins with the demolition of the
existing hall of fame building and construction of a new,
three-story building. This part is expected to be completed in
September 1999.
With the first floor of the new building devoted to the hall of
fame, the other two floors will house a new press room and sports
offices.
During the second phase, workers will renovate the existing
building to add more office space for coaches, some of whom do not
currently have offices in the Morgan Center. Added space will also
be given to sports information and to the creation of a study
lounge for student athletes.
According to Weiner, one priority is private offices for
coaches, since the cubicles which some coaches now use don’t
provide the privacy necessary for talking with student
athletes.
What has many students upset is the green fence that went up
last week, which disrupts a path that many students use on their
way to classes.
"I thought it was just another obstacle," said Virgil Thompson
II, a first-year computer science student.
When Thompson learned what the fence was for, and that the
athletic department is expanding because it needs more space, he
didn’t mind the detour.
"Since they need room, it’s fine," Thompson said.
Another student said the expansion is justified by the quality
of athletics at UCLA.
"Considering the athletic department is so good, yeah (they
should expand)," said Elizabeth Blair, a second-year political
science student.
With the department growing in size, the expansion is long
overdue, according to Weiner.
"There’s a growth component that’s 10 years behind the curve,"
he said.
The new fence for the Morgan Center project joins another fence
that was put up in the winter of 1997 for the expansion of Lot 4
under the intramural and soccer fields. That fence cut off Bruin
Walk, forcing the detour that now takes many students between the
Morgan Center and the James West Alumni Center.
Both fences should be removed by May 2000, according to
Enholm.
"On construction projects, there’s always concern by students
… (but) it’s a fact of life," Enholm said. "We need to contain
the construction site for safety."
With the expansion of the Morgan Center comes the temporary loss
of the grass area that is now next to it. The new building will cut
into some of that space, but a new park, now known informally as
Regent’s Park, will take its place.
Weiner called this new park more "utilitarian." It will face the
quad area of Westwood Plaza.
At the completion of the Morgan Center project, workers will do
some of the landscaping, with the remaining work to be done in a
separate project.
The Bruin statue, now just outside of the temporary fencing,
will have a new home when the project is complete. The bear will be
moved onto Bruin Walk, just south of the entrance to the Wooden
Center and placed on a new base. Capital Programs will also make a
few other improvements in the area, including construction to
reduce the likelihood of flooding in that area.
"It’s going to be quite nice," said Marc Fisher, director of
design for Capital Programs.
The improvements will also increase the amount of open space in
the area, despite the addition of the new building, according to
Fisher.
The fences will remain in place for another year and a half, and
Blair claims they are an eyesore on campus.
"It’s the most annoying thing," Blair said. "I think it’s ugly
and shouldn’t be there."CHARLES KUO/Daily Bruin
UCLA’s newest construction site has inconvenienced students
walking to and from class and will require the relocation of the
Bruin Bear.
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