St. Thomas board approves construction of Anderson Student Center

On Dec. 3, 2009, the Executive Committee of the University of St. Thomas Board of Trustees approved construction of the Anderson Student Center on the northeast corner of Summit and Cretin avenues.

 Pending city government approvals, St. Thomas expects to begin construction of the $66 million, 210,000-square-foot student center in April or May of 2010, and to open the building in January 2012.

The Anderson Student Center will be named for St. Thomas trustee Lee Anderson and his wife Penny, who made a $60 million gift for the project as well as for the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex and the Anderson Parking Facility. The $52 million athletic complex is scheduled to open in August 2010. The 724-car ramp opened in February 2009.

“The student center will serve as a wonderful gathering place that will tie together our north and south campuses,” said Father Dennis Dease, president. “It will help us as we further strengthen our co-curricular programming, which is so vital to the overall development of our students.”

“We like to say the student center will be our living room – the real heart of the campus that is so essential and that our students so truly deserve,” said Jane Canney, vice president for student affairs.

 The new student center will replace facilities now located in Murray-Herrick Campus Center. Murray Hall opened in 1960 to serve an undergraduate student population of about 1,900, and enrollment had grown to 4,300 when the Herrick Hall addition opened in 1989. Undergraduate enrollment today exceeds 5,900 in St. Paul, and there are 1,400 graduate students on the St. Paul campus.

 The two wings of the L-shaped student center will face Summit and Cretin avenues. There will be two primary entrances, one facing Summit and the other facing an expanded lower quadrangle. Features will include:

 • Food. There will be three major dining areas: a student dining center on the second floor and a Grill-like restaurant and Scooter’s on the first floor. Coffee, smoothies and other beverages will be available in a third-floor venue.

 • Recreation. A four-lane bowling center and dance floor will be on the lower level. Pool tables and electronic darts will be in Scooter’s, and another first-floor area recreation will include ping pong and foosball tables and flat-screen TVs for video games.

 • Meeting rooms and offices. The Division of Student Affairs, Campus Ministry, Auxiliary Services and student organizations and clubs will be on the second and third levels. A large multi-purpose room on the third floor will provide flexible space for dinners, concerts, dances, lectures and other activities. A Hearth Room and 13 meeting rooms will be on the second and third floors of the Summit wing.

 • Art. A permanent art gallery will house the American Museum of Asmat Art on the second floor. Space also will be available throughout the building for student and other exhibits.

 • Stores. An emporium to purchase clothing and supplies and a C-Store both will be located on the first floor.

 • Parking. Thirty underground spaces will be available for campus visitors, with access from Cretin Avenue.

St. Thomas is seeking silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for the student center. Under consideration are energy-efficient mechanical systems, water conservation measures, highly insulated exterior wall and roofing systems, lighting controls and use of as much natural daylight as possible.

Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex

The three-level athletic and recreation complex under construction will replace O’Shaughnessy Hall, which opened in 1939, and Schoenecker Arena and Coughlan Field House, which together opened in 1981.

“What we’ve lacked is a central facility that supports our entire athletic program, including recreational facilities where all students, staff and faculty can exercise and work out,” said Dr. Mark Dienhart, executive vice president and chief operating officer. “We were operating with facilities that were suitable for a school of a couple of thousand students and making do as best we can. But we are at a time when making-do is not what St. Thomas is about.”
 
The Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex will feature:

• A 2,000-seat basketball and volleyball arena in the former location of Schoenecker Arena.

• An aquatic center containing an eight-lane, 25-meter swimming pool and diving area on the former site of Foley Theater. The aquatic center will have spectator seating for varsity competitions and will look out onto the campus’ lower quadrangle.

• A new field house with a 200-meter track on the former Coughlan Field House site. Coughlan contained a 166-meter track, which did not accommodate NCAA indoor track-and-field meets. Locker rooms, meeting rooms, the training rooms and other support facilities will be constructed under the field house.

• A west wing will include a fitness center, weight room and aerobic rooms on the first floor and offices and classrooms for the Athletics and Health and Human Performance departments on the second and third floors.

The complex is expected to open in August 2010 and will be silver LEED-certified.

Anderson Parking Facility

The five-level, 725-space Anderson Parking Facility opened at the intersection of Cretin and Grand avenues in February 2009.

The façade of the structure contains alternating sections of brick and limestone-colored precast concrete that resemble the Mankato-Kasota Stone that is prevalent in St. Thomas’ architecture. There is an elevator and primary stairwell at the northeast corner of the ramp, closest to Cretin and Grand.

The parking spaces provided by the ramp will allow the closure of Lot H on Cretin and Summit avenues, which will be necessary for the construction of the new student center.

Atop the Anderson Parking Facility sits the new St. Thomas Observatory, which opened in September 2009 and houses a permanently mounted telescope. The observatory will be used by astronomy, physics and education students as well as community groups.