Construction on campus continues

Amy Paterson photo editor Construction workers Shaun Arbogast and Aaron Shifflett work outside of Duke Dog Alley to connect the steam plants.

Around Duke Dog Alley, construction is in progress to connect the city’s steam plant to the JMU steam plant.

Mike Davis, JMU director of facilities management, said construction should be completed by mid-November. Because the Harrisonburg plant creates steam by burning trash — which is cheaper than gas or oil, linking the two plants will save the university money, according to Davis. Linking the two plants also will allow JMU to send steam back to the CISAT building in the event that the Harrisonburg plant has to shut down for repairs.

Future plans for expansion projects around campus include a new music recital hall, a new arts complex and an additional library by the College of Integrated Science and Technology buildings. The new library would contain more scientific and technological resources than the existing Carrier Library.

The music recital building and arts center are to be built across South Main Street where the Anthony-Seeger Hall building currently stands. Anthony-Seeger Hall currently houses The Breeze office, the Bluestone office, WXJM, WMRA, the Center for Assessment and Research and The Young Children’s Program.

Fred Hilton, former JMU spokesman, said he was uncertain as to where the facilities that are currently housed within Anthony-Seeger Hall will be relocated.

JMU also has acquired the land surrounding the Turner Ashby Memorial off Port Republic Road at Neff Avenue. The property will be used for additional recreational fields. There presently are no plans as to what type of fields will be built there, according to Hilton.

While Hilton concedes that there may be a few nuisances to students as a result of the construction, he believes that the positive results of JMU’s expansion outweigh the temporary inconveniences students might face. "The end result in the very near future is that there are going to be great improvements for students," he said.

Some students however, expressed concern about the noise and unsightly construction sites.

When freshman Megan Lake came to JMU for her campus tour last April and for her summer orientation, she had some qualms about seeing all of the construction. "At first I didn’t know if I wanted to be around it," she said.

Now, Lake’s opinion of the construction has changed. "It shows that they are trying to improve JMU, and — in the end — it will be a good thing," she said.

For students like sophomore Danny Cohen, avoiding the campus sprinkler system in the mornings provides more of a hassle than navigating around construction sites. "As long as [construction sites] aren’t blocking off major paths, it isn’t really much of an issue," he said.