The ongoing Reitz Union renovations will shut down certain sections of the 46-year-old building until its completion in 2015.
Student organizations will take arguably the biggest hit. Space for them to meet and work is limited now, and “it’s going to get gradually worse,” Executive Director Eddie Daniels said last week at a forum.
Around the start of next year, the rooms on the third floor across from the Department of Student Activities and Involvement will become unavailable. From February 2015 to the redone Reitz’s debut later that year, Daniels said, the building will be virtually without room for student organizations.
“Meeting space in this building will be extremely limited,” he said.
The Reitz Union Rion Ballroom will become unusable in February, when the space it currently occupies undergoes construction to become meeting rooms. Upon the project’s completion, the Reitz Union Rion Ballroom will be on the third floor, Daniels said.
The information desk and Student Government Computer Lab have already relocated. Orange & Brew has been closed completely, and although the amphitheater isn’t being made over, it’s off-limits during construction.
Student Body Treasurer Jayce Victor wrote that groups could see challenges with room reservation — they may even have to use spaces outside the Reitz or off campus to meet.
“Students as well as administration will be experiencing some changes in the upcoming year, but I believe that this is a moment that will empower us all,” Victor said.
Daniels said revenue from food court restaurants and the hotel could be impacted as well, but he hopes any negative effects will be minimal.
“We haven’t been through this before,” he said. “There are a lot of unknowns.”
A version of this story ran on page 3 on 9/3/2013 under the headline "Reitz Union closures to affect student organizations until 2015"
