burglands@lopers.unk.edu
The final portion of the Otto C. Olsen building foundation came down on Jan. 12. Awaiting nicer weather, the next steps of construction will soon be in motion.
Blessing Construction has been working on the dirt work and grading the past couple of weeks and should be finished this week.
“We are just waiting for better weather so we can start doing some of the concrete pouring and landscape work that has been planned,” said Todd Gottula, Senior Director of Communications at UNK. “That should all get started next month in March.”
Gottula said they are still finalizing the layout of the parking lot that will be on the south side of the construction site. The parking lot will include 130 parking stalls and new lighting to make it safer as well as more attractive at night.
There is still some demolition to be done to fulfill all the plans.
“The space to the north of the site is going to be turned into green space,” Gottula said. “But before that happens there is going to be demolition at the current north parking lot.”
Gottula is hopeful that the north parking lot between Randall Hall and where Otto Olsen used to be is going to be torn out soon. Once completed, that area of green space will be called 26th Street Mall.
Besides the green space, the only other immediate plan for that area is a 12-foot-tall sculpture of an antelope, being done by artist Mark Lundeen of Colorado.
The demolition of Otto Olsen had taken longer than anticipated, which caused the construction timeline to change slightly.
There was the hope of having the landscaping done by spring graduation, which is still possible. However, the whole project will not be done by then. Gottula believes construction will be in the works in May and into the summer.
“This is going to be an area that students, faculty and staff can be really proud of, it’s going to be a really nice addition to campus when this is all done,” Gottula said. “Green space is always nice, and this is going to look and be very attractive and functional.”
