The University of Alabama is set to complete several major construction projects later this year, including a new golf practice facility and a renovated transportation research center. According to the Capital Projects Portal, the University currently has 24 ongoing projects, with 15 slated for completion in 2024.
Alabama Intercollegiate Athletics Golf Facility
Construction on the Alabama Intercollegiate Athletics Golf Facility will end in July 2024 and serve the men’s and women’s golf programs. The two programs currently play at the Ol’ Colony Golf Complex, a public course that was constructed in 2000.
Women’s golf coach Mic Potter said in February 2022 that having an exclusive course was important to the program and that UA Golf was thrilled to have its own home.
According to a proposed budgetary resolution for the project, the nearly $48 million project will involve “the construction of a club house, support facilities, a practice course and a 9-hole course to support the Women’s and Men’s Golf programs and to allow the programs to perform at an elite level and attract and retain premier student athletes.”
The nearly $48 million facility will be located south of Jack Warner Parkway, and according to its project description will include five buildings: the Golf House and Cart Barn at the Golf Practice Facility, a Pump House and Comfort Station on the 9-Hole Golf Course, and a separate Golf Maintenance Facility.
Potter and men’s golf head coach Jay Seawell visited the facility recently and gave input on how the driving, chipping and putting areas were laid out. Scot Sherman, lead architect for Love Golf Design, and Darren May, a PGA Tour instructor for several top golfers, also took part in the design meetings.
The project received $14 million in funding from Crimson Standard Cash gifts, which are donations to the University. The remaining $33 million came from an internal loan from the University.
The facility received more than $7 million in additional funding in April to construct a tunnel under
Kicker Road and the KCS railroad, which pass through the middle of the new facility.
According to UA Athletics, men’s and women’s golf will move to the new facility in fall 2024.
Smart Communities and Innovation Building
The Smart Communities and Innovation Building project will renovate the former Alabama Transportation Center into a new center for transportation research on the Peter Bryce Campus.
The University will also partner with Alabama Power and Mercedes-Benz U.S. International for research as part of the newly formed Alabama Mobility and Power initiative, which, among other things, will research electric vehicles. The University will co-locate AMP with the Alabama Transportation Institution and Alabama Department of Transportation in the SCIB to foster collaboration between the groups.
“This initiative will have a profound impact on workforce development and economic development in a targeted industry area vital to Alabama,” the project description states.
The SCIB has a budget of more than $54 million and is set to finish construction in August 2024.
The main building of Peter Bryce is undergoing a $94 million renovation that will be completed in November 2024.
The University cut the ribbon on the Catherine and Pettus Randall Welcome Center at Bryce Main in January. Once the renovation is complete, the building will host museums that explore the history of the University and of mental health in Alabama.
The building will also host faculty offices and rehearsal spaces for Theatre and Dance, and it will eventually be connected to the Smith Family Center for Performing Arts when it is finished in 2026.
McLure Library will begin renovations and additions this summer, marking its first major update in 70 years. The construction will improve the building’s maintenance issues, including all new mechanical, electrical, accessibility and life safety systems as well as new windows.
McLure will now host the School of Library and Information Studies, part of the College of Communication and Information Sciences formerly located on the seventh floor of Gorgas Library. According to the project description, the move will increase the program’s adjacency to Reese Phifer hall and free up space in Gorgas.
The SLIS’s new space in McLure will allow for increased class sizes for graduate students and the eventual addition of undergraduate majors and minors.
The vacant floor in Gorgas will be used as a technology-focused, collaborative and student-driven space , according to the general project information.
The renovation will also provide McLure Library with an elevator and improved ADA access. The nearly $19 million renovation and addition project will be completed in May 2025.
Roadwork
The University will spend more than $26 million improving roads and building infrastructure on University Boulevard, Colonial Drive and University Boulevard, and 2nd Avenue and 15th street. Construction on the roads is set to be complete by August.
On University Boulevard between Hackberry Lane and 6th Avenue, the University will improve drainage, remove concrete and repave the roads with asphalt to convert 6th Avenue into a two-way street.
At the intersection of Colonial Drive and University Boulevard, the University will build a new storm sewer and improve the roadways with paving, road markings, landscaping, bike paths, lighting, security and other infrastructure improvements.
The work on Colonial Drive will combat the risk of flooding present at Doster and Reese Phifer Halls and prevent future flooding on University Boulevard and the Quad.
The University will also complete the 15th Street and 2nd Avenue intersection improvements project in August, which will widen 2nd Avenue to include turn lanes, new sidewalks and enhanced landscaping.
The construction on 15th Street and 2nd Avenue will help alleviate event traffic to Coleman Coliseum and the Capstone Parking Deck.
Greek houses
Kappa Sigma is set to complete its new nearly $17 million chapter house in November, and Delta Kappa Epsilon, Beta Theta Pi and Alpha Delta Pi are undergoing renovations and additions to their current houses.
Kappa Sigma’s house will provide the fraternity with more than twice as many seats at chapter meetings and 17 additional bed spaces.
Delta Kappa Epsilon will renovate its interior and enclose while reworking parts of its exterior to create additional space. Construction for Delta Kappa Epsilon’s renovation and addition, which costs more than $7 million, is expected to be completed in July 2024.
Beta Theta Pi will begin a $1.4 million addition to its recreation room in August 2024, which, along with the addition of a storage room, will add approximately 1,500 square feet to the house.
Alpha Delta Pi will renovate its 28 bedrooms with updated furniture and finishes. The $2 million project does not currently have a start or end date on the Capital Projects Portal, but it is listed as ongoing.
