After a busy fall semester, several major campus construction projects are either finished or making steady progress.
Most notably, East Campus’ Legacy Plaza — a revitalized green space area which the Nebraska East Union, C.Y. Thompson Library and Dairy Store now open out to — is starting to take shape.
Scroll through for updates on the plaza area, as well as other construction projects.
Nebraska East Union
After two years of renovations beginning in October 2018, updates to the Nebraska East Union are complete. The $28.5 million project includes new lounge areas and study rooms for students, faculty and staff; a Starbucks coffee shop; and an expanded dining center, bowling center and Great Plains Room, used for campus events.
Dinsdale Family Learning Commons
Workers are putting the finishing touches on East Campus’ Dinsdale Family Learning Commons, a new community space connected to C.Y. Thompson Library. Similar to the Adele Coryell Hall Learning Commons on City Campus, the building will feature study rooms and collaborative areas for students, a set of “learning stairs” and floor-to-ceiling windows. The commons will also become the home of the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program.
View more pictures of the ongoing construction here.
Mabel Lee Hall demolition
Those passing by 14th and Vine Streets will notice that Mabel Lee Hall, the former home of the College of Education and Human Sciences, is now completely demolished. Demolition began last spring to make way for the college’s new building, which will feature updated classrooms, meeting spaces, offices, labs and a 400-seat auditorium. The project is scheduled for completion in spring 2022.
Ongoing construction updates are available on the CEHS website.
Engineering expansion
The final steel beam of the Scott Engineering Center’s new “Link” was raised into place in late August, marking the end of primary framing work. Construction has continued steadily since then, with new windows and internal structures visible from 17th street.
The renovated Link will primarily house research labs, along with the departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering. View a live webcam of the construction, and learn more about the project, on the engineering website.
Hamilton Hall lab spaces
Renovated lab spaces on the third floor of Hamilton Hall greeted Huskers taking chemistry classes last semester. Updates were made to the 50-year-old labs’ overall layout, ventilation systems, chemical storage rooms, restrooms and glass shop. Other lab spaces on the third and fourth floor of Hamilton will be renovated in the near future.
Steam tunnel project
Nebraska’s Facilities Planning and Construction group recently conducted steam tunnel work in the area between Mueller Tower and Love Library. The tunnels contain pipes that transport steam to campus buildings, allowing them to be heated or cooled. A larger steam tunnel project was completed last August, replacing 500 feet of 50-year-old infrastructure on East Campus.
