Construction of new dorms, parking garage begins; make note of road closure

Beginning 5 p.m. Friday, March 9, the road known as University Way will be closed for the next 18 months so that work can begin on the construction of new residence halls and a new parking garage on the west side of Modesto A. Maidique Campus. Faculty, staff and students who use the road are urged to seek alternate routes to their destinations on campus.

The section of University Way that will be closed is the portion from the front of the stadium to the intersection at the Panther Hall parking lot.

The Panther Hall parking lot will also be closed for the duration of the project.

In response to student residents’ feedback, the Panther Garage will be open around the clock for the remainder of the spring semester. Residents also will be able to park in Lot 7 and Lot 5. (Lot 5 will be unavailable through April 6 due to contractual obligations with the Miami-Dade County Fair & Exposition, which runs March 15-April 1.)

As an added convenience, the Department of Parking & Transportation has expanded Panther Mover hours of operations. The free service, which runs continuously between the Panther Garage and Primera Casa (PC), will now operate from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m.

The proposed design of the new residential hall that will occupy the current site of the Panther Hall parking lot. University Way road will be moved a few yards east and will travel between the hall's two buildings. The two buildings will be connected by an overhead, covered walkway.

A two-building residence hall and a 300-car parking garage will be erected on the current site of the Panther Hall parking lot. When the project is finished, the university will have added more than 600 new beds to its residence halls and created a new gathering area for students near FIU Stadium. University Way road will reopen once construction is finished in August 2013.

“We’re building for today’s students and the students of tomorrow,” said Jim Wassenaar, executive director of Student Affairs Operations & Auxiliary Services. “We’re growing and building a better FIU.”

Added, Bill Foster, director of Parking & Transportation, “We’re excited about this project. We’ve gotten positive feedback from students in housing.”

“I think people have become more understanding, after seeing what we accomplished with PG5 on the north side of campus,” said Wassenaar. “FIU is becoming less and less a commuter school and engaging more and more in offering students and its faculty and staff a richer experience.”