With five buildings under construction, Texas A&MKingsville is truly living up to the idea of “Constructing Tomorrow.” The two main parts of the process are the new student recreation center and new residence halls that were approved by students through the referendum. “Students voted through a referendum to assess a fee each semester. There is not greater commitment from students than to vote and choose this type of facility as their own,” Dr. Terisa Remelius, vice president for student affairs, said. University officials are hoping the recreation center will be a major force in recruiting. “The center will bring a modern, state-of-the-art recreation facility providing a better student experience. It will provide the robust recreation opportunity that today’s students and parents expect in college,” Charles Espinoza, associate director of recreational sports, said. |
 Sabrina Reyna / The South Texan Above: Construction on the new residence hall began in November and is scheduled for completion in Fall 2009. The new residence hall will be on the site of the former Student Family Housing apartments, behind Martin Hall. The new residence housing will include suites with living rooms and kitchenettes. They will also include study lounges, meeting rooms, wireless internet, cable television and on-site mail boxes. Students have had opportunities to help select the decor of the new residence halls. The architect is BOKA Powell, the firm that designed Texas Stadium and they have also designed residence halls at Texas Tech, University of Texas at Arlington, University of Texas at El Paso and University of Texas at San Antonio. |
The new residence halls are the first dorms built on campus in almost 40 years.
The university is also working on building a new serpentarium for the Natural Toxins Research Center.
The third floor of Jernigan Library will also be the new home to the South Texas Archives.
The plan for having the archives on the third floor is to have all resources available for students in one centralized location for easier research.
The university’s Citrus Center in Weslaco will also be getting a new building with constructing starting before September 2009.
Along with these five construction projects, there are also nine renovation projects including Rhode Hall and new signage around campus.
Information and facts about all the new buildings and renovations are available at www.tamuk.edu/construction.
There is also a webcam to monitor the construction of the recreation center at the website.
Building Budget |
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| The university currently has over $80 million working towards beautifying the campus. A feasibility study is underway to renovate the entire Biology Earth Sciences building (BES), 40,000 square feet, at an estimated cost of $4.5 million. The recreation center will cost $12 million. The new residence halls will cost $28.6 dollars. Rhode Hall renovations cost approximately $300,000. |  |