October 27, 2008
Ridgecrest South to have basketball, volleyball court

Drew Taylor, Senior Staff Reporter, The Crimson White

With the concrete work at Ridgecrest South nearing completion in the next couple months, the University will be starting different work with the ongoing project, including different amenities.

Among the amenities will be basketball and volleyball courts in one of the two courtyards the new residence hall will have, said Tim Leopard, assistant vice president for design and construction for the University.

Leopard said due to the geometry of the two buildings next to each other, two courtyards will be fitted close to each other, one at the north building of Ridgecrest South and another at the south building. The south building’s courtyard will feature a sitting area, complemented with various gazebos and barbecue grills. Leopard called this more of a “gathering area.”

The basketball courtyard will also feature a sitting area.

Leopard said construction crews should finish layering the concrete on the building within the next month or two, which is necessary to complete before any more work can be done. From there, the crews will start the roofing system, drywall framing and mechanical work, all of which occurs concurrent to each other in order for the residential community to be completed on time.

Leopard said the brick work for the building would start sometime next month. After all this is complete, crews will begin work on the amenities of the buildings, including the two courtyards.

Leopard said the amenities of any building are normally completed last in order to not damage anything in the process of the heavy construction.

“You want to get the heavy construction out of the way so that things like that don’t get torn up,” Leopard said.

The facilities division of Financial Affairs has been working extensively with the office of Housing and Residential Communities in regards to the amenities, Leopard said. The HRC office holds various focus groups or student surveys, trying to find out what the students want for leisure in and around the campus.

“It happens very early in the process,” Leopard said.

The HRC office was unavailable for comment on the project.

The amenities will also include a multimedia room in one of the buildings, featuring a seating capacity of 30 to 40 people. Further information on this development was not available.

The budget for amenities is projected to run at $700,000, which was included in the budget increase for the project, approved by the UA System Board of Trustees last week. This also includes landscaping, cleaning up the courtyard areas and providing shading area for the students.

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