by Indira Moosai
In Summer 2018, UT started renovation on the Riverside Center. The building will become fully two-stories and will add about 20,000 square feet to the existing floor plan, making it a total of 54,000 square feet. Career Services and Mail Services will get a significant portion of this space.
“The entire Office of Career Services is thrilled by the new space,” said Mark Colvenbach, director of Career Services. “The new space will have tremendous impact on how the team in Career Services will be able to serve students, alumni, employers and campus partners.”
Career Services will have an additional 5,000 square feet. This will be used for placement services, including space for interviewing, recruiter meetings and receptions. Career Services will also have a multipurpose room opening onto a patio that overlooks the Hillsborough River.
“Students will have increased opportunities to connect with internships and jobs from around the country and the world, for that matter, through technology improvements, space allocation, etc.,” said Colvenbach. “In addition, multi-use space will create events and opportunities to engage employers and students in a variety of manners from informal networking programs to high-end skill development events.”
UT’s post office, which is now referred to as Mail Services according to Kathy Fryer, manager of Mail Services, will be redesigned.
“We are delighted about this renovation as it will help us serve the university community in a more efficient way,” said Fryer.
The space for Mail Services was expected to be completed by the start of Fall 2018 but it is not ready yet.
“We were hoping to be in the new facility by the start of school, but construction delays are pushing that date farther into September,” Fryer said. “We hope to be there by the end of that month. We will [notify] the University community as soon as we have a date certain.”
Mail Services is currently temporarily located in the Academic Tutoring and Academic Coaching Building behind the pool. Mail Services says the brown modular building is for student packages only, while the white modular building is for student, faculty and staff mail and postage purchases.
Additional spaces that will be placed in Riverside Center include the language lab, classrooms, administrative offices, study spaces and meeting areas.
The Department of Language and Linguistics is very excited about the new additions to UT, said Andrew DeMil, chair of the Department of Language and Linguistics.
“Best practice in the field of language teaching and learning encourages the use of well-integrated technology that promotes active language use, exposure to authentic language through multimedia materials, and both group and individual practice,” said DeMil. “The new labs will offer our students these opportunities.”
The construction of Riverside Center is paid for by individual gifts and University funds. Riverside Center is being built to be a candidate for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification of the U.S. Green Building Council.
Landscaping, new sidewalks and outdoor, riverfront seating will be included in the renovation as well. Cardenas said the bulk of the building –– including the second floor –– is expected to open in Spring 2019.
Indira Moosai can be reached at indira.moosai@theminaretonline.com