Members of a campus area city committee met Monday night to discuss an update on the campus area’s list of facelifts and construction projects.
Known as the Joint Southeast Campus Area Committee, the committee facilitates both the planning and coordinating of activities and construction projects in and around campus.
According to UW-Facilities Planning and Management Representative Gary Brown, projects ranging from SERF reconstruction to a new School of Music Performance Center are still very much on the table, while sought-after additions to the Chemistry Building were deferred.
“The governor’s written in approval of the SERF reconstruction project,” Brown said. “Of course, these are only recommendations from the governor’s office … so things could clearly change.”
The Music Performance Center was sent back to a design commission, Brown said.
According to the university’s website, the Music Performance Center will fill the vacant lot next to the Chazen Art Museum and help finalize the East Campus Gateway, which the university’s website calls the “front door of the UW-Madison campus.”
However, additions to the Chemistry Building did not receive the same approval extended to the SERF, according to Brown.
“The Chemistry Building addition was recommended for deferral,” Brown said. “That was a $108 million, full state-funded project … This project has been around for two decades … It was deferred last time and will probably be deferred again.”
Renovations and additions to the Chemistry Building are still planned though, with what Brown described as a project proposal calling for approximately $2 to $3 million in funds fronted by the university instead of the state.
The committee briefly touched on the new university Master Plan, which will redefine the priorities that guide the development of the university. Planning is expected to open up to public debate in April and committee members predict the plan to be finished between 18 to 24 months.
