Change of Plans
SLIPPERY ROCK — The plans for the renovation of Miller Auditorium have been changed, which will save nearly $3 million.
The original project was expected to cost $25.6 million and would have entailed large additions to three sides of the building.
The new plan will reduce the addition to Miller and will add some work to East/West Gym. It will cost $22.9 million.
The original plan was to add a 300-seat dance performance space, a “black box” theater with 300 seats, additional rehearsal space, classrooms, offices and an expanded lobby. When completed, the building would have been 58,753 square feet, nearly triple its original size.
The building currently is 22,803 square feet, has an 800-seat auditorium, a lobby and dressing rooms.
Scott Albert, assistant vice president for facilities and planning, said under the new plan Miller will get a smaller, 9,500-square-foot addition with a larger lobby, dance studio and shop space.
East Gym will get the black box theater, classrooms, additional storage space, additional restrooms and an elevator. West Gym’s current two-story dance studio will be subdivided into two dance studios.
The area that connects the two buildings, which currently contains a pool, will be converted to another dance studio.
Albert said the new project will allow for more collaboration between the dance and theater department and will reduce future operating costs.
He said Herb Carlson, the recently retired vice president of construction design and management, approached the dance and theater departments to see what their needs were and discovered some of the work could be added to East/West Gym to accomplish the same thing.
SRU’s council of trustees approved the changes Sept. 28.
The State System of Higher Education board of governors approved the plans Oct. 9 and complimented SRU President Cheryl Norton for using campus resources effectively.
“That was a nice little bit of recognition for campus,” Albert said.
If everything runs on time, Albert said construction could begin in the spring of 2016.
The state Department of General Services, which appropriates money for state university projects, has not appointed an architect yet. Albert said he hopes the firms R3A Architects of Pittsburgh and Westlake, Reed and Leskosky of Cleveland are appointed because they designed the original Miller project.
