Story by Ava Chuppe
Contributing writer
am.chuppe@gmail.com
Many construction projects are happening on Murray State’s campus, prompting students to question whether these projects will be completed by the time they return in the fall.
One of the most anticipated of these projects is underway in the Curris Center, where a Chick-fil-A, Starbucks and Steak ‘n Shake are being built.
The Chick-fil-A is in progress and expected to be opened this fall, and the Starbucks is still in the design phase but scheduled to open during the fall semester. The Steak ‘n Shake renovations are still being planned, and it should be finished sometime during the 2019-2020 school year, but not before the start of the fall semester.
The Curris Center is also getting a new parking lot, which will be finished before the start of the fall semester.
Another new restaurant currently under construction is the Einstein Bros. Bagels located inside Waterfield Library. The construction on the library, including this restaurant location, is scheduled to be completed in August. The breezeway work on Waterfield Library will be wrapped up in a few weeks, before school begins.
One might also notice the construction currently being done on the new James H. Richmond Residential College.
“In a nutshell, it’s going pretty good,” contractor Mark Davis said about the HVAC project within the building. “We’re down to putting in the grills, which is our last step… It looks like we’re going to meet our deadline.”
Davis said that his project will be completed by the end of July, and the building should be ready for students by the beginning of the fall semester.
Another building, Sparks Hall, will have new entrances that will be under construction starting in July.
The new trading room in the Business Building of the Arthur J. Bauernfeind College of Business is expected to be completed sometime near the beginning of the fall semester.
In addition, the construction on the roof of the Blackburn Science Building will soon begin and occur during the fall.
A new park is being built in the area near Woods Hall. Although the completion date of the Woods Park project has not yet been determined, its design concepts are currently being created for review. Construction on Woods Park will begin during the fall semester as well.
In addition to all of these campus projects, there are miscellaneous parking lot sealcoating and general landscaping improvement projects occurring across the campus. Most of these projects are scheduled to be finished by the beginning of the school year.