Update on campus construction

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BYU students have likely noticed the multiple construction projects taking place on and around campus, including a new one involving the Faculty Office Building.

This image shows the area that will become the new West View Building which will take the place of the Faculty Office Building. Construction will take place in two phases throughout summer 2019, and will largely impact West Campus Drive.

West Campus Drive

Preparations for the demolition of the Faculty Office Building began on May 30, BYU Media Relations Manager Natalie Ipson said.

She also said the project will take place in two phases and last about 13 months.

During Phase 1, Ipson said a construction fence will be installed along the west side of West Campus Drive, beginning at the entrance to the JFSB parking garage and continuing to the south end of the JFSB.

The fence will also include the stairway at the north end of the Faculty Office Building near the bike racks and continue to the east side of the Richards Building. The Faculty Office Building demolition will begin June 3.

Ipson said the west sidewalk along Campus Drive and the stairway at the north end of the Faculty Office will be closed to pedestrian traffic. However, the east sidewalk along West Campus Drive will remain open for pedestrian traffic, and the preschool parking area on West Campus Drive will remain open during construction.

Phase 2 of construction is expected to begin the second week of July, when the construction fence will expand to shut down a portion of West Campus Drive. Ipson said the closure will begin at the entrance to the JFSB parking garage and continue until about halfway down the JFSB near the preschool parking area. Traffic will be closed to the area between West Campus Drive and the entrance of the JFSB parking garage going south.

However, the east sidewalk along West Campus Drive will remain open at all times for pedestrian traffic, while the preschool parking area on West Campus Drive will remain open during construction.

The Daily Universe previously reported that the Faculty Office Building will be replaced by the new West View Building, which is expected to be completed by mid-2020. The building will house the Department of Economics, the Department of Statistics and the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship.

The Faculty Office Building was built in 1955 as two buildings, according to a BYU press release. It began as the restrooms and ticket office for the old stadium, according to an article from the BYU College of Family, Home and Social Sciences, and initially housed departments such as language studies, anthropology, political science and sociology.

The Faculty Office Building was dedicated in 1970 by Elder Ezra Taft Benson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, along with the indoor tennis courts and the new football stadium. The building was most recently home to the Department of Economics, which the press release said would be relocated to the Crabtree Building until the West View Building is complete.

LaVell Edwards Stadium

BYU Media Relations Manager Todd Hollingshead said construction at LaVell Edwards Stadium is set to be complete by the first football game of 2019.

He also said “everything is in place” for the Stadium of Fire celebration to go on without major impacts from construction.

The Daily Universe previously reported that the stadium renovations will connect the four major seating sections of the stadium without increasing seating capacity. This will allow patrons to walk between stands without having to return to ground level.

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