Freestanding BCC Construction Set to Begin in Summer

BCC Project Manager Masaya Konishi, an architect in UNC's Department of Facilities Planning and Construction, said the revision of the center's design plans has taken six months because officials want to ensure that the building blends stylistically with the buildings throughout the rest of the campus.

He also said the project's location near Coker Woods further complicated efforts to design underground utilities.

"This project has to skirt around an environmentally sensitive area," Konishi said. "We had to make sure all the trees that could be saved will be saved."

But Konishi said the architectural plans now meet state requirements and that contractors will start bidding on the project in late February or early March.

Konishi said construction is slated to start in July and will run continuously until its completion, scheduled for October 2003.

He said even though the plans are mostly ready now, major construction projects usually cannot get started in the winter because of weather-related concerns.

University officials ceremoniously broke ground for the freestanding BCC on April 26, more than eight years after members of the Black Student Movement first advocated for its existence to then-Chancellor Paul Hardin.

Since its formation in 1988, the center has been housed in a 900-square-foot space in the Student Union.

BCC director Joseph Jordan said the freestanding center will feature a 1500-square-foot auditorium, seminar rooms, a library and galleries to house traveling and local art exhibits.

Although fund-raising efforts had been under way since 1992 for a freestanding BCC, it was a $6 million donation from UNC alumnus David Clayton in September 1999 -- part of a $28.6 million total gift to the University -- that cleared the way for construction of the building.

Jordan said the BCC has already raised the additional funds necessary to construct the center, which is projected to cost a total of $9 million.

But he added that the BCC is still soliciting donations through the Carolina First campaign -- a seven-year, $1.5 billion fund-raising campaign by the University -- to pay for the center's interior features.

"We have the money in hand to let the construction get under way," Jordan said.

"But it would be a shame to have this wonderful building and nothing to fill it with."

Konishi also said interior plans for the center were recently redesigned to accommodate increased gallery space at the suggestion of BCC officials -- an unexpected step that also contributed to the project's delay.

"One of the reasons there's been a bit of a delay is that the floor plan had to be changed," Konishi said. "Because the architects were so close to having all the drawing completed, it took some time to redraw the plan."

But Jordan said the changes made will allow the center to accommodate a greater range of exhibits and will improve the BCC's overall contribution to the University.

"The gallery and the entire center will be a wonderful and unique addition to the campus," Jordan said.

"The final plan is something UNC can be proud of."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.