Two historic buildings on University Avenue will be rebuilt in the next two years.
The Institute of Black Culture and La Casita will be torn down and redone, said Mary Kay Carodine, the assistant vice president of Student Affairs. The two buildings suffer from mold, termites, moisture and structural damage.
Construction on the buildings should start by January 2017, she said. They are planning to finish in Fall 2017.
It will cost $3.3 million to rebuild both buildings, with funding from Florida’s Capital Improvement Trust Fund, Carodine said. The organizations will each have their own building, but the two will be connected.
While construction is underway next year, programs held in the buildings will move to the Multicultural and Diversity Affairs center in the Reitz Union, Carodine said.
Along with fixing mold and moisture problems, the new buildings will have new furniture and a new courtyard, she said. They will also include new wheelchair ramps and elevators to make the buildings more accessible.
“It’s meant to be a home, a retreat,” Carodine said.
Steven Baldizon, a UF political science sophomore, said he hopes the two buildings won’t lose their cozy atmospheres.
“I still want it to be warm,” the 20-year-old said. “I still want it to have that same feeling of coming in where you feel at home and you can relax.”
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