UAB Briefs: Campus construction, IndiaFest, off-campus help
Welcome to another installment of UAB Briefs.
In this weekly online feature, we keep track of interesting people and events on campus.
Know people, places and programs on the UAB campus that deserve a mention? Email us at jchambers@starnespublishing.com.
CAMPUS CONSTRUCTION
As always, the UAB campus is a busy place, with numerous construction projects underway. The following is our monthly rundown of these projects.
UAB’s renovation of the DoubleTree hotel – located on campus at University Boulevard and 20th Street South – should be complete by November, according to UAB Media Relations.
The parking garage, facade and other exterior improvements are complete. Work continues on renovation of guest rooms. The next phase will be common area improvements
The facility, which has about 15,000 square feet of meeting space, has been used often for conferences hosted by university departments.
The hotel has remained open during renovations.
The UAB Police Headquarters is to be completed on schedule in March, after some additional interior finishing and site work, according to UAB Media Relations. The two-story, 28,000-square-foot, $8.2 million facility is located at 14th Street and 11th Avenue South.
Construction is 85 percent complete on the new $37.5 million UAB Collat School of Business at University Blvd. and 13th Street South. The building envelope is near completion, and work continues on interior partitions and the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, according to UAB Media Relations. The facility, measuring about 110,000 square feet, should be complete this summer.
The $32 million, 72,000-square-foot renovation and expansion of the UAB School of Nursing is about 70 percent complete and should be finished by July. The first floor buildout, including classrooms, simulation labs and conference rooms, is 90 percent complete, according to UAB Media Relations.
Construction on the new intramural fields at UAB is about 35 percent complete. Work finished so far includes the pavilion slab, blockwork, steel structure, and field lights and net poles, according to UAB Media Relations. The facility will be the home for club and intramural outdoor sports and should be complete by this summer.
Construction began in January on the new UAB Proton Therapy Center at 20th Street and Fifth Avenue South. The two-story, 29,000-square-foot center will be the first facility in Alabama to offer an advanced form of radiation cancer treatment. Brasfield & Gorrie is the contractor.
Site grading is in progress for the new $3 million UAB ROTC training facility at 828 Eighth Court S., according to UAB Media Relations. The facility, measuring 12,800 square feet, should be completed by fall 2018.
The $39.5 million College of Arts and Sciences building at UAB should be complete by spring 2019. Work is underway on the concrete structure and site utilities, according to UAB Media Relations.
The university also recently announced plans to tear down seven outdated buildings, according to UAB Media Relations: Worrell Building, 924 18th St. S.; Worrell Building Annex, 924 18th St. S.; 1200 Building, 1200 Sixth Ave. S.; former Jefferson County DHR Building, 1301 5th Ave. S.; 711 Building, 711 11th St. S.; Dowdy Building, 1109 Seventh Ave. S.; and Cancer Research Center, 550 11th St. S.
INDIA FEST
The annual IndiaFest on campus, which began on March 11 and continues until April 27, celebrates India’s arts and culture with a wide variety of community activities.
IndiaFest is presented by the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center, the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts and the Department of Art and Art History.
Free events include film screenings, a dance competition, community yoga, crafts, lectures, a family day and an outdoor concert by Red Baraat, complete with food trucks, dancing and more.
Taste of India, Alabama’s first and only bhangra and Bollywood fusion dance competition, will take place at the Alys Stephens Center on Saturday, March 31, at 5 p.m.
The UAB Asian American Organization will host collegiate dance teams from across the country to compete for a cash prize.
Taj India restaurant will serve Indian food at the beginning of the show.
For a complete IndiaFest calendar, go to alysstephens.org.
NEW OFF-CAMPUS SERVICES
Students who live off-campus now have services and services and resources devoted to their needs since the March 19 opening of UAB Off-Campus Student Services, according to UAB News
The new office, which is part of the Division of Student Affairs, is located in the Hill Student Center, Room 140, and offers the following services:
-- Connects off-campus students to campus events, activities and organizations;
-- Assists students with finding off-campus housing options, including overseeing the off-campus housing website at offcampushousing.uab.edu;
-- Hosts events for off-campus students and
-- Serves as home for the Off-Campus Student Council.
To connect with Off-Campus Student Services, follow them on Facebook and Instagram @uaboffcampus or email offcampus@uab.edu.