Several construction projects on UCA’s campus are nearing completion, including Burdick Hall’s long-awaited return to normal operations.
Burdick Hall is expected to return to full operation this fall after almost three years of construction following a late-night fire May 4, 2022.
“The Burdick remodel is on schedule and progressing well,” Associate Vice President for Facilities Kevin Carter said. “The estimated completion is Aug. 1. As long as we don’t have any unforeseen delays, Burdick will be back to normal operations for the start of the fall 2025 semester.”
Due to the repairs to Burdick Hall, all faculty in the building were displaced, including the entirety of UCA’s geography department.
In a previous Echo article, Stephen O’Connell, associate professor and geography department head, said, “One of the challenges faced by geography is the fact that we are the only academic department fully based in Burdick.”
According to the article, the geography department was also the only department that had all of its faculty’s primary offices in Burdick; the other departments in Burdick utilized the building for classrooms and secondary offices at most, with their primary offices housed elsewhere on campus.
The remaining work yet to be completed in Burdick consists of “installation of new mechanical, electrical and plumbing equipment,” Carter said. “Flooring, painting and other interior finishes. The total construction contract is $9.6 million.”
The geography department was relocated to Lewis Science Center, where faculty were assigned spaces to store their belongings.
Along with the ongoing renovations in Burdick Hall, a bridge near the UCA tennis courts has recently been completed, though there is some minor construction still ongoing in the surrounding area.
“The bridge is complete with the exception of some work being done to the light poles around it,” Carter said. “The design was approximately $175,000 and the construction cost was approximately $550,000.”
The bridge was funded through a grant from the Arkansas Department of Transportation for $180,000, with the remaining funding being provided by UCA. The bridge is an extension of the Stone Dam Creek Trail.
In addition to the current construction projects expected to be near completion, the Farris Center is set to be replaced.
The anticipated cost of the new facility is not yet available, nor is a plan on where and how the money for the facility will be obtained.
“We are in the middle of the RFQ [request for quote] process to select an architecture firm for the feasibility study,” Carter said. “Once the study is complete, the UCA Board of Trustees will vote to approve the design and construction of the new facility. The firm selected for the feasibility study will also be the firm that designs the new facility.”
The location of the new facility has not yet been determined, nor has the decision of whether or not the current Farris Center will be torn down to make way for the new facility.
“None of these decisions have been made at this time,” Carter said. “We’re still in the process of selecting an architecture firm. The UCA Board of Trustees will still need to vote on the construction of a new facility once the feasibility study is complete.”