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The six-story building will be connected to UH's College of Optometry at the corner of Wheeler Avenue and Calhoun Road.

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I thought that was the building going up at the corner of Cullen at the PGH entry drive. So if this is going up at Calhoun, WHAT IS GOING ON AT CULLEN!?!?

And does anyone have any information about what they are doing at the power plant? The whole area is fenced off.

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Found out everything that's happening (sorry for the double post. can I not edit my previous post?):

My linkhttp://www.uh.edu/plantops/resources/projects-log-folder/Major_Capital_Projects_Main.pdf

It's from July 2010, but it lists all the planned or current projects.

The thing at Cullen at the PGH entrance is nothing more than an expansion of the Fleming Building. I hadn't been into Fleming since the work started, but apparently they are renovating the whole thing.

The whole powerplant is being renovated, and they are replacing two of the cooling towers and two boilers.

Other things include a planned 2,400-spot parking garage at Roberston, renovations of about half a dozen buildings, extension of the Valenti School of Communications, and a third building for the Bauer College.

What is conspicuously absent it the University Center renovations.

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  • 4 months later...

I was on campus yesterday and saw a lot of work going on. The Optometry building in the southwest corner of campus is already up to the second story, the Fleming lab building is almost entirely finished, and there is a new building going up next the Melcher school. They were just putting up the second story of the steel frame. It's the large building in the top-right corner of this picture:

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(I took this picture of almost a year ago in Melcher Hall with my non-smart phone, so excuse the quality).

And the most exciting of all for me, is that they have torn up that whole area along Wheeler that was cleared for the light rail, and have dug it down 2-3 feet. And sitting in the middle of it was a stack of rails! I was worried that they were going to clear the area and then leave it empty for years like the Astroworld site.

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Frankly I wish they go with a more modern design for the clocktower (and the other new buildings on campus, for that matter), but I'll take development of bland buildings over no development any day. I'm sure they are going for a timeless look that will still be appreciated 50 years from now.

Really, I wish they could do some kind of smooth, curving design for the clock tower, like a miniature version of the Shanghai Tower.

shangh-lead1.jpg

That would look fantastic.

Edited by Golyadkin
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Are they really building a clock tower?

Here's what I know directly from Renu. The stadium parking garage will start going up this week. It'll have 10,000 square feet of retail on the street level. Rumor is that Taco Cabana is taking a big chunk of that space. 2,400 parking spaces.

Fund raising for the new stadium is going really well. Over $60 million has been raised and there are four companies interested in the naming rights (rumored to be asking $30 million for 20 years).

Stadium features include the following;

40,000 seats with expansion to options up to 60,000. 24 private suites. 650 club seats. 180 sideline loge boxes with 4-8 seats each. New press level. Roof top terrace with standing room for 300 people. HD Video Board.

However, what most don't know is that the East Side of the Stadium will have approximately 35,000 square feet of academic space primarily reserved for the Moores School of Music! The naming rights for this complex has been secured. It'll include marching band, cheer, and dance team rehearsal space. Wind ensembles and jazz program rehearsal space. A University-wide Hall of Honor. A new 300 seat recital hall. A band library. Locker room with shower facilities for the Spirit Groups to use on game days. Kitchenette. Reception areas and a student lounge. Office space for Moores School faculty and staff. Instrument storage facility.

New residential space will include Sophomore Housing. This will be built where the Cougar Place Apts. currently reside (Calhoun and Wheeler). Cougar Place will be torn down this summer. In its place will be an 800 bed dorm styled similarly to the freshman dorm complex just opened. Opening set for 2013. Around the same time, a married/family housing complex with 400 units and childcare center will be built across from MacGregor Park on MLK.

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I guess we'll see what part of the stadium parking lot is going to be lost for the next school year next week then.

So it won't be Robertson Stadium anymore? I've always thought that school stadiums that have corporate names just seemed cheap.

I'm going to be on campus in the next few weeks, I'll bring my camera along and grab some pictures of everything that's happening.

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I guess we'll see what part of the stadium parking lot is going to be lost for the next school year next week then.

So it won't be Robertson Stadium anymore? I've always thought that school stadiums that have corporate names just seemed cheap.

I'm going to be on campus in the next few weeks, I'll bring my camera along and grab some pictures of everything that's happening.

Please do, and just general documentation of the preconstruction areas would be nice. :)

When I was reading the facilities for the musical department, I was picturing glee.

Thank god I don't watch that show, I can only imagine the jazz hands I would be doing as I read this.

PS: Insomnia sucks.

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any bland building they put there will look much better than Agnes Arnold Hall!

They're putting an addition to the Moores School Of Music as far away from the original MSM as you can get and still be on the UH Campus... lol

(I worked at the Moores Opera House when it first opened)

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any bland building they put there will look much better than Agnes Arnold Hall!

Like I said, Im all for the new construction but this new building next to the clock looks pretty close to Agnes Arnold Hall which isnt that great looking. Guess it has to do with the UH budget shortfall maybe.

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Really, I wish they could do some kind of smooth, curving design for the clock tower, like a miniature version of the Shanghai Tower.

shangh-lead1.jpg

That would look fantastic.

No, that would look like a marital aid. One of the ones with enough horsepower that you have to plug it into the wall.

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any bland building they put there will look much better than Agnes Arnold Hall!

They're putting an addition to the Moores School Of Music as far away from the original MSM as you can get and still be on the UH Campus... lol

(I worked at the Moores Opera House when it first opened)

Huh?

The addition is going up on the southwest corner of Cullen @ Holman. That's about a two minute walk, if you walk slowly, from the back entrance of the Moores School! Additionally, it'll be used extensively by the marching band, cheer, and dance teams and will make going to all of the events in Hofheinz and/or Robertson/new stadium a helluva lot easier.

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No, that would look like a marital aid. One of the ones with enough horsepower that you have to plug it into the wall.

I was thinking the same thing, but I would imagine it would require a kick start engine.

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I'm not saying exactly like that. It was an example. I just mean that that would look better than the rigid block design they look like they are going to do.

Hey, I'd prefer it be more rounded too...you know, if I were into that sort of thing. Blocky shapes just seem like they would hurt.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Like I promised, I walked around campus today and took around 65 photos. There's a lot of work that's going on, about to start, and that has been recently completed. Currently there are two tower cranes and two crawler cranes active on campus. I won't put all of the photos up, but if you want to see the rest I took, they'll be in my photobucket album: photobucket.com/golyadkinarchitecture

Fleming Laboratory Building:

Front:

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Rear:

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The connection point of the new building to the old Fleming Building:

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Wheeler construction:

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Stacks of rails for the light rail:

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Light rail sign:

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Health and Biomedical Sciences Center:

Sign:

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Building:

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Melcher Classroom and Business Building:

Sign:

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Building:

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Power Plant work:

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Lance T. Funston Communication Center/Jack J. Valenti School of Communication/Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts:

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Fenced off area around the Technology Annex:

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Something going on at Science and Research 1:

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The stadium parking garage is going to be starting soon:

DSC_0165.jpg

Edited by Golyadkin
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Yup, since I'm taking summer classes at UofH, I see this everyday. The campus is definitely booming and it's making me wonder how they're doing this especially since they have an extensive budget shortfall right now... perhaps donations?

Either way, my favorite new building is definitely the new Fleming building. Very nice.

Btw, in this picture where everything is blocked off... this is actually where the new Robertson stadium parking garage is going in. I hear there will be lots of retail on the bottom floor, including possibly a Taco Cabana. The other idea that's been tossed around is that the Taco Cabana may replace Chili's to go.

DSC_0104.jpg

Edit: thanks for the pics! they were great. I take it that you are a fellow coog as well?

Edited by Triton
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Yup, since I'm taking summer classes at UofH, I see this everyday. The campus is definitely booming and it's making me wonder how they're doing this especially since they have an extensive budget shortfall right now... perhaps donations?

Donations is what I've heard. Because the state keeps cutting education funding, UH is having to operate almost like a private university in terms of funding. I've also read that they have something like $60-70 million saved up for the new stadium already.

Btw, in this picture where everything is blocked off... this is actually where the new Robertson stadium parking garage is going in. I hear there will be lots of retail on the bottom floor, including possibly a Taco Cabana. The other idea that's been tossed around is that the Taco Cabana may replace Chili's to go.

DSC_0104.jpg

I noticed it was blocked off, and initally thought that's where the garage would be, but it turns out that it's going in the corner of the lot at Cullen and Holman. Lot 15F is blocked off and lot 15D is where the garage will be.

Looking at the campus map from the UH website, you can see that it's the blue outlined area marked by the number 597:

270680_10100100320598886_37526399_44222969_2051832_n.jpg

And looking at that map, I think I found something that I haven't seen announced or mentioned at all: an extension of the Wheeler Housing. The blue dashed lines represent future construction, and look what I found:

264355_10100100322599876_37526399_44222977_7878980_n.jpg

Edit: thanks for the pics! they were great. I take it that you are a fellow coog as well?

Yup. I've been there since Fall of '06. :D

Edited by Golyadkin
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 5 weeks later...

Got some more pictures today:

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Something is happening at the MD Anderson Library on the powerplant side:

DSC_0856.jpg

They're putting a really cool glass facade on the power plant:

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Looks like we're getting new bus stops:

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Wheeler is coming along well:

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New Bauer building is at its final height:

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New optometry building is getting big:

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They installed security posts in the parking lots:

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Robertson Stadium is falling apart:

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The new parking garage construction is under way:

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Wow thanks for the awesome updates!!! They are flying on the new Stadium garage. They must be doing the garage and the expansion simultaneously. This Fall is going to be TOUGH having lost so much surface parking, but at least we'll gain it back once the garage is built.

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Actually they've slightly expanded surface parking to compensate.

In this view here: http://maps.google.com/?ll=29.729308,-95.341769&spn=0.004592,0.006539&t=h&z=18

The dirt lot has been expanded and paved, and the three empty blocks along Cullen are also being turned into parking lots.

Edited by Golyadkin
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Once again, I'll have to park near the freeway and walk all the way to the COA this semester. Parking is especially bad if you have later morning classes, but I'd rather not get up at 5:30 AM like I used to.

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