News

Grainger Expansion forces McBurney Center relocation

Various University of Wisconsin student services once housed at the former bank and office building at Park and University Streets have re-located to make way for the future expansion of Grainger Hall.

Among other campus centers, the McBurney Disability Resource Center and Letters & Science Career Services have moved to the W.S. Middleton Building at 1305 Linden Dr.

The building that the services once occupied, 905 University Ave., will be demolished in August 2006 and later occupied by the Grainger Expansion.

The new portion of Grainger Hall will include additional graduate services, classrooms, a plenary room and career center.

Construction of the addition is expected to begin by summer or fall of 2006 and completed by fall of 2008.

The project was delayed due to over-budgeting of the initial plans. However, new plans have been drafted and the addition will now proceed according to schedule.

“Bids (for the project) were high, so we’re going to go forward with a slightly different version of the project,” said Melissa Amos, assistant dean of administration for the business school. “We hope our re-design will be ready to go by spring semester and construction to begin by summer.”

While many relocated UW staff members have already settled into their new offices, some have said the transition has been less than convenient for their student clientele.

“It was a hard thing because … they didn’t have any advanced notice,” B.A. Scheuers, director of the McBurney Center said. “There are still some issues that need to be resolved, but they’re things people are working on.”

Due to the ad hoc relocation of the center, Scheuers said there have been problems making the new building wheelchair accessible for their disabled student-clients.

“We’re getting there — it takes a while when you move an office. [But] we’re open for business,” she said of the adjustments. “It was a surprise for our staff of what a challenge it was.”

For L&S Career Services, the move presented few complications, according to Director Ann Groves Lloyd. She said she was “pleasantly surprised” by the new space’s sufficiency.

“The move went as well as a quick move can go,” she said. “The space is fabulous; [it] turned out better than we could have hoped.”

But Lloyd acknowledged the move has presented problems, as some students are still unaware of the service’s new location.

“Our biggest concerns are getting students to know where we are … that’s a worry,” she said. “But it takes folks a little bit of time to get used to.”

Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities Alan Fish said; given the short notice, the relocation went off without many hitches.

“I think they’re finding it to be a great working environment,” he said of the W.S. Middleton Building, adding some of the services will be moved again once new facilities are built.

“It was pretty much a really rapid project,” he added. “We had to move quickly and find some alternate campus space.”

The offices of the Division of Continuing Studies and College of Letters and Science-School of Human Ecology, PEOPLE and Posse Programs have also relocated to the W.S. Middleton Building.