Master Plan Update: Almost All of Phase One in Progress

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   When Jack Lassiter returned to the University of Arkansas at Monticello in 2004 to assume the role as Chancellor, he brought about big ideas, foremost being the Master Plan to do a large-scale much-needed renovation around campus.

   First announced in the fall of 2005, the Master Plan’s first phase should be finished within a year, Lassiter said, with projects like the Weevil Walk and Weevil Pond already completed.

    “We now have every project, except for one, that was identified in our Phase One of the Master Plan started,” Lassiter said. “As you can tell, Wells and Sorrells Hall we are renovating.  It will give us some additional classrooms and office space. We’ll also be connecting those two buildings with an elevator and a walkway so we'll have access to the second floor for disabled students to both those buildings. That project is scheduled for completion hopefully by mid-fall semester of 2008.”

   While Ideal of Construction of Crossett renovates Wells and Sorrells Halls, the construction displaced a good number of professors, campus organizations and the entire nursing program.

   The nursing program moved to a modular classroom behind the Red Barn, while professors' offices and campus organizations have been spread across campus. In some cases, organizations meet off campus now.

   “Speech and Debate - we’ve had to move them to actually one of the faculty’s residence over near the Chancellor’s home,” Lassiter said. “They’ve been very, very pleased with it and as a matter of fact they are talking about wanting to stay there permanently, but they don’t know yet what the new building looks like. I think they will be more pleased with it than their present temporary facilities.

   “It’s one of those things that impact all students, 'cause we’ve had to really condense our schedule and move classes in. We’ve probably not able to offer as many selections to students that we normally would just simply because we’re limited on our classroom space.”

   Lassiter said due to lack of funding, the renovations of the Babin Business Center will be moved to the early stages of the second phase of the Master Plan. The plans includes putting an elevator system in the building, and Lassiter said once it’s completed, every floor of all buildings on campus will be accessible to disabled students.

   The second phase also includes the renovation of the H.H. Chamberlin Forestry Resources Complex, which made great strides in funding Tuesday, Dec. 4 with the $1 million private donation by Maxine Clippert. Lassiter said the university earned almost $5 million for the project so far, with $2 million committed by Gov. Mike Beebe and $1.7 million attained by state legislation.

   The second phase of the Master Plan will start once necessary funding is available, Lassiter said.

   With bids accepted for construction of the indoor practice facility and renovations of the press box, ground breaking on the athletic project should begin at the first of the year. Lassiter said contractors plan to have the press box finished before the start of the 2008 football season and the practice facility finished sometime mid-fall.

   “The important thing about the athletic project is that we have been real successful in raising some private money to help offset the cost of that which allows us then to take our other money and put it into other projects,” Lassiter said. “We’ve raised almost, I think as of today, $560,000.”

   Lassiter said with a project of the size of the Master Plan, all plans must be flexible due to many variables outside of the university’s or the construction companies’ control.

   Inclement weather could push back the project and in the case of Sorrells and Wells, changes not on the original blueprints of the buildings caused the architects to redesign some things.

   Lassiter said the biggest problem in a project taking multiples steps and years is the cost from conception to construction rising.

   “Just as an example,” he said. “This is not the detailed final plan, but architects kind of did a concept of this forestry resource building, they estimate a $6.7 million cost on it. My guess right now probably would be in excess of $8 million the exact building just because of the cost of materials and labor and everything else that has increased.

   “Renovating a building you want to put the best and most technology advanced equipment you can in the building. It’s kind of like driving a car - you can buy a Cadillac or you can buy a good Ford. So we had to come back and buy a good Ford, which will do us well, it just won’t have all the bells and whistles.”