Welcome Center begins Master Plan construction
By MOLLY McVOY
Saint Mary's Editor
This afternoon the implementation of the Saint Mary's College Master Plan begins with the groundbreaking ceremony for the Welcome Center and Dalloway's Coffeehouse.
"I think it's significant that we're beginning with these projects," said Marilou Eldred, the president of the College. "The Welcome Center will be a signal to both the internal and external community that we are a thriving community."
These two buildings represent the first step in the 10-year Master Plan and will be located near the corner of Madeleva Drive and The Avenue.
"They are both going to be fabulous additions to the campus in terms of hospitality for visitors and a social space for not only Saint Mary's students, but also for Notre Dame," said Rick Russell, vice president of College relations. "It provides a unique place for students and faculty to continue interacting."
The Welcome Center's blueprints have been finalized and the money for the project has been secured. Jim and Colleen Ryan, members of the Saint Mary's Parent Council, donated the $750,000 necessary for the building.
"[Jim and I] both think it's a wonderful time at Saint Mary's to enhance the campus," Colleen Ryan said. "When you drive onto the campus, you get this beautiful, tree-lined drive, but no place to get information. There just wasn't a place for a friendly welcome."
Colleen Ryan is a member of the Board of Trustees. Two of the Ryans' daughters graduated from Saint Mary's in 1995 and 1997 and one will graduate in 2000.
The Tudor-style Welcome Center will provide information on the history of Saint Mary's and current campus events.
"The Welcome Center will be an extension of campus hospitality," Russell said. "Its basically a place for people to get directions for places on the campus and in the congregation. There will be an area to display info about the college, the history and current events."
Eldred agreed that hospitality is the main focus of the Welcome Center.
"[The Welcome Center] will represent the hospitality that characterizes the Sisters of the Holy Cross and the College," she said.
Dalloway's Coffeehouse will be serving the same function the old clubhouse near Holy Cross Hall now serves. It will serve as a host for student performers and speakers and offer food and coffee. Students will handle the management and programming of the coffeehouse.
"We want it to continue to be the same kind of social gathering for students [that the clubhouse was]," Eldred said.
The building will have the same basic layout of the old building and will have a structure similar to the clubhouse. The kitchen has been enlarged and the bathrooms improved from the old building.
"It'll hopefully become a social hub for the school and a place to find food not found anywhere else," Russell said.
The finances and final plans for Dalloway's Coffeehouse still need to be confirmed, according to Keith Dennis, vice president of finance and administration. James E. Childs and Associates, Inc. have been hired as the architects. Originally, Ziolkowski Construction was hired to handle the construction, but, after the Board of Trustees directed the College to lower the cost of the building, other contractors are being investigated.
Dennis and John DeLee, director of buildings and grounds, met with Casteel Construction Corporation to discuss the cost of the coffeehouse. According to Dennis, the Casteel's pricing was very encouraging, and the College has asked them to refine their bid. A third contractor is being consulted today to ensure that the College gets the best price. After meeting with Casteel, Dennis is confident the project will begin soon.
"It appears from these numbers that the project will be able to proceed," he said.
The College hopes to have both buildings completed by the beginning of fall term along with the renovations in Regina Hall. The ceremony is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. today and will include a presentation by Eldred, Nancy Midden, former student body president, the Ryans and Bonnie and John Martell, Saint Mary's Parent's Council representatives.
All News Stories for Thursday, March 30, 2000
