New building to host tech hub

UNC took a step toward revolutionizing computer services and research on campus Friday with the kickoff of a construction project that will take more than a year to complete.

On a windy morning, University officials congregated under a tent on a construction site to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Information Technology Services building.

The new building — located on Manning Drive and slated to open in December 2006 — will place all of the University’s roughly 250 IT employees under one roof.

Workers now are scattered across campus in about 12 different buildings, and the new structure will allow for better communication and collaboration, officials said.

Chancellor James Moeser was the first of several UNC officials to take the podium at the event.

“I want to commend everyone who had a hand in the planning of this building,” Moeser said. “I know it has been a labor of love for you.”

The building will be located at the “pivot point” of the University, close to UNC Hospitals, South Campus residence halls and the main campus, Moeser said. “I think it is symbolic of the role and purpose of it.”

Dan Reed, vice chancellor for information technology and chief information officer, touted the contributions that information technology already has made to the world and explained how he thinks the new building will encourage similar advances.

He said IT will be an “enabler for research, service and, indeed, development across the state.

“Today we celebrate the groundbreaking of a new building, but more importantly we celebrate the revolutionary home of the future.”

The 94,000-square-foot building will cost an estimated $35 million. N.C. higher education bonds contributed $9,863,831 to the project.

Roger Perry, chairman of the UNC Board of Trustees Buildings and Grounds Committee, thanked North Carolinians for voting in support of the construction.

“It is going to be an enormous asset to our state and its future,” he said.

The building is designed to serve as a hub for networking and telecommunications on campus. The section that will house computer systems will have special environmental controls.

Plans for the building began in May 2002, when the Board of Trustees approved a “workspace designed specifically for campus computing needs.” Trustees approved the final design for the building in January 2004.

The new project will add to the list of active construction sites on campus, encompassed in the University’s Master Plan. The plan includes 40 to 50 years of construction projects meant to update and develop the campus.

Completed projects include the Rams Head Center, the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History, the new Student Union and additions to residence halls.

The new IT building will increase communication among staff, Reed said.“Research is driven by the ability to collaborate with colleagues and to build models,” he said.

“Historically, discovery has rested on two pillars, theory and experiments. Information technology has become the third pillar.”

 

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.