Samford undertakes several construction projects prior to new school year
Samford University continues to make several changes to its campus as the fall semester approaches.
From the end stages of the work on the former Southern Progress property to new construction on the campus’s west side, Executive Director of University Communications Philip Poole said the campus has been busy throughout the summer working on several projects.
Additional Parking
The house that used to occupy space adjacent to Lakeshore Drive was demolished early on in the summer to make way for an addition to the south stadium parking lot at the campus’s western entrance.
Poole said the new lot will add 68 spaces to the lot, which will be accessible from the western gate. The new parking lot has been in the works for a couple years, Poole said, but the university had to postpone its construction because the house was needed for student housing last fall.
In addition to the new spaces in the south stadium lot, Poole said the university is working on around 70 additional spaces near the former Southern Progress property, now referred to as East Campus, adjacent to the Beeson Woods residential area.
East Campus
The property acquired from Southern Progress is the new home of the four schools that make up the College of Health Sciences, and Poole said a majority of the work has already been completed.
“We’ve already actually begun to move some of the offices and other support areas over to that space as the renovations are being completed,” Poole said, but added that the East Campus property will not officially open until students return on August 29.
Poole said that as far as the Lakeshore Drive entrance to the property goes, the university is still undecided, and won’t make a decision until a connection through the existing campus is completed.
New Housing
Samford received approval from the Homewood Planning Commission for the construction of a new residence hall in its west campus area to be utilized for Greek life housing. Construction has already begun on the new building, with an opening date set for the fall of 2017.
Poole said this project, as well as some recent resurfacing on the nearby roadways, is likely to be the largest contributor to any congestion for those attending athletic events, but that they haven’t seen any major problems during summer activities.
“If people observe the signs and maybe just add a couple of extra minutes, it should not create a huge disruption,” he said.
Moving forward, Poole said there may be additional changes to the campus as the university’s master plan is changed and adapted as it is reviewed this year.
“Those plans will continue to evolve,” he said.