UMass Amherst Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony for New, $50 Million Recreation Center

Nov. 2, 2007

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Ed Blaguszewski 413/545-0444

AMHERST, Mass. – Officials at the University of Massachusetts Amherst broke ground today for a new, $50-million Recreation Center. The building will be constructed on the east side of Commonwealth Avenue across from the Mullins Center.

The new facility, expected to open in spring 2009, will feature 120,000 square feet of space on three floors. It will have weight training and fitness areas on two of the floors, and a three-court gymnasium that can be used for badminton, volleyball and basketball surrounded by an indoor, three-lane jogging track. Funding for the new facility comes from student fees.

The building will also feature three multi-purpose rooms, locker and bathroom facilities, a juice bar, and lounge space and new administrative offices. The weight and training areas will feature cardio equipment and large-screen media displays. This part of the building will be about seven times larger than the existing facilities in Boyden Gymnasium.

Speaking at the groundbreaking event were Thomas W. Cole Jr., interim UMass Amherst chancellor; Jack M. Wilson, UMass president; Jennifer Braceras, alumna and member of the UMass Board of Trustees; John McCutcheon, athletic director; state Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg and state Rep. Ellen Story.

UMass President Jack M. Wilson said, “Our students deserve the best facilities, including a modern, multi-purpose campus recreation center. UMass Amherst has been experiencing an unprecedented building boom that includes upgrading existing buildings and the construction of new ones. This facility was designed with considerable interest and planning input from the students themselves, and it is yet another symbol of the University’s commitment to providing an excellent student experience, both inside and outside the classroom.”

John McCutcheon, athletic director, said, “This new recreation center will be a great asset to the university. We are looking forward to providing our students, faculty and staff with a first-class facility that will be one of the finest in the Northeast. We hope the center will be a source for pride for the entire campus community.”

Surveys of students conducted on the UMass Amherst campus as far back as 1999 showed strong demand for a student recreation facility and identified it as a top priority for campus officials. Considered by many schools to be key to enhancing student life and admissions efforts, recreation centers have been built across the country in recent years.

The site is central to the campus, a 20-minute walk from nearly all residence halls, which is another key element favored by students.

A special effort has also been made to weave the new Recreation Center into the campus fabric by designing a pedestrian spine that will connect the campus center/library core with the Mullins Center complex to the west. Campus planners say this will improve vehicular and pedestrian circulation and cross traffic, as well as provide topography changes to meet handicap accessibility requirements.

There will be a new concrete sidewalk from parking lot 40 to upper Hicks Way and a new, gently sloping 80-foot by 330-foot greenway, or open space, as approached from the east; this design will create an outdoor plaza area for gatherings and will allow for direct passage through the building to Commonwealth Avenue. An existing road will be designated as a pedestrian-only pathway along the north side of the site.

Constructing a new facility is also preferable to expanding Boyden Gymnasium because that building currently houses intercollegiate athletics and campus recreation programs, and this project will separate student recreation from the student-athlete training center.

The new Recreation Center is designed by Sasaki Associates of Boston. The general contractor of the project is Fontaine Brothers of Springfield, Mass.

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