Say good-bye to the 1970s portion of the UO's Erb Memorial Union building … and hello to 1920s vintage McArthur Court.
Student groups and others whose offices have been in parts of the EMU that were added during a 1970s expansion – mostly east of the Fishbowl – have begun packing for their move to temporary spaces in the concourse and mezzanine of McArthur Court. Movers will work from late in finals week through spring break to haul boxes, furniture and equipment into the Mac Court spaces, and "EMU South" at the former basketball arena will be open for business when spring term begins March 31.
An open house at EMU South is planned for April 3.
"We're turning the old basketball court that was built in 1926 into EMU South, and we're doing that without using the basketball court itself," said Dan Geiger, project coordinator for the Erb Memorial Union renovation and expansion project.
"Right now, groups in the EMU – the 1970s part of the building – are packing up," Geiger said. "Tuesday night, they had a packing and pizza party."
The $95 million project will create new student collaboration spaces and reinvent the university’s student union for its next generation of students, with about 80,000 square feet of new space and 134,000 square feet of renovated space. Student fees will pay for $90 million of the project, which will be completed during the summer of 2016, and the remaining $5 million is being raised through private gifts. To learn more about giving to the new EMU, contact Lisa Manotti at lmanotti@uoregon.edu.
The project's first phase began late last year with the relocation of student groups to the ground level of the EMU near “The Buzz ” coffeehouse, closure of the EMU computer lab and relocation of the Outdoor Program to “The Barn” at 18th Avenue and University Street. A new craft center will open in the renovated location when completed this June.
Geiger said demolition work for the new craft center space "is well underway, and now we have the permits to do the build-out."
That leads to the project's second phase, and moving much of the student union's activity to the EMU South spaces at Mac Court – where the temporary tenants and visitors will have amenities including lounge areas, a café and a new meditation room. And, of course, a ticket office.
"One interesting thing about Mac Court is its marquee, which has been dark for many, many years," Geiger said. "Our team got in there and fired it up, and it's kind of neat to see that lit up again."
Lease Crutcher Lewis, the general contractor for the overall EMU project, reported in a construction update earlier this month that demolition and underground plumbing and electrical work for the new craft center space – in the 1950s portion of the EMU – is nearing completion.
Utility work has also begun at the corner of 14th Avenue and Onyx Street, between the EMU and the ongoing Straub Hall construction project.
"The construction zone, although very limited now, will continue to expand and will encompass the entire south lawn and '70s building by early June," the construction company's report said.
A goal is to keep portions of the EMU facility open throughout construction, and to provide services at current or alternative locations as much as possible.
Demolition of the 1970s portion of the EMU – the east portion of the facility – will begin in May.
- by Joe Mosley, UO Office of Public Affairs Communications