Students will have a place to meet after hours at a 24/7 student center to be established at Newell Hall.
Senate President Christina Bonarrigo announced at Student Senate Tuesday that funds were secured for the new center.
The renovation will cost $13 million. The money was gathered from the same pool of student funds used for the Reitz Union makeover, Bonarrigo said after the meeting.
The project is waiting for final approval from the Board of Governors, which should take place Jan. 16, Bonarrigo said after the meeting.
The UF Board of Trustees officially approved the renovation of Newell Hall into a study center last month.
Bonarrigo told the Senate that she would like to see a plan for Newell Hall in full motion before the end of the semester.
“It would be an amazing addition to campus,” she said.
After the meeting, she said Student Senate will gather student input and ideas for the new study center.
“We want to make sure that’s represented in the final plan of the building,” Bonarrigo said.
Newell Hall, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was home to the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
A plan to renovate it was introduced in 2009 but dropped due to lack of funding.
Contact Colleen Wright at cwright@alligator.org.
