After a delay caused by a budget dispute between the university and the hired contractor, construction of the Flight Deck in the Don Taft University Center began last week.
According to Jessica Brumley, director of design and construction for Facilities Management, the contractor misquoted certain high end, high maintenance items, increasing the original budget of $2 million to $3 million.
Tom Vittuci, director of Campus Recreation said the original plans didn’t fit the space and what they were looking for in terms of look and feel.
“It was going to look more like a Ritz Carlton than a pub,” he said.
Facilities Management and the Office of Campus Recreation then went back in to the project, going item by item, looking for ways to save money and bring the project costs closer to the original budget said both Brumley and Vitucci.
Vitucci said, “We were really committed to not go back to the students to ask for more money for this project. We were either going to cover the costs or adjust the project without compromising the spirit of it.”
The result: no planned spaces will be eliminated or made smaller. The game room expansion, the Flight Deck kitchen, the outdoor bar and the study cabanas are all still a part of the project. The only thing to no longer be included will be the water fountain, which was to be located at the outdoor bar area. However, all of the infrastructure will be installed so the fountain can be added at a later date. Brumley said Brad Williams, vice president of Student Affairs and dean of the College of Undergraduate Studies, is currently looking to find funding for the fountain.
The Flight Deck renovation was designed by ACAI, a full-service architectural firm based in Florida, that has been worked with NSU for almost 20 years. ACAI designed the Health Professions Division Building, the NSU pediatric dental expansion at Joe DiMaggio Hospital, as well as all of the fitness centers at the regional campuses.
Pan SGA, who contributed half of the money for the project, were kept up to date on the project. Daniel Brookins, SGA president, said he was very impressed with the way the university handled the project and is excited to see the finished project.
“[The Flight Deck] will change the look and feel of the University Center and how the students use it,” Brookins said.
The delay to the construction will also delay the reopening date, which was originally scheduled to coincide with the start of the Winter 2014 semester. Brumley said the project would take 120 days from start to finish and they are looking at late February for the grand reopening.
“Everyone will do everything they can to make up for lost time,” Brumley said.
In the meantime, the Office of Student Activities will hold focus groups to ask students what types of entertainment they would like to see in the Flight Deck, as well as host a taste testing of the food that will be served. No date has been set for the taste testing, but Vitucci said they are planning for some time during the last week of the fall semester.
For more information on focus group schedules and how to join, contact the Office of Campus Recreation at 954-262-7301.
