Wednesday, August 18, 2004

Aug. 18, 2004

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Expanding to meet the needs of its growing student body, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington broke ground Wednesday, Aug. 18, for a new University Union complex.

Set amid the excitement of the first day of classes, the groundbreaking ceremony was punctuated with a blast of confetti. Plastic buckets with shovels and hardhats with the slogan “To form a more perfect Union” were distributed as mementos of the occasion. Participating in the ceremony were Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo, Vice Chancellors Pat Leonard and Ron Core, SGA President Zach Wynne and Holly Manley, a student who is on the union staff.

Wynne unveiled a poster representing the bronze plaque that will be the building cornerstone. The plaque is a gift to the university by the Class of 2003. Artwork by James Fulcher, a 2002 UNCW graduate, was unveiled by Manley. He creates vivid paintings and elaborate three-dimensional sculptures out of recycled surfboards. Tents lining the sidewalk provided information on the various services and offices that will be expanded or renovated in the new University Union.

The union renovation and expansion project will cost approximately $29.2 million, funded totally by student fees and contributions from the bookstore and food service. It encompasses three phases: construction of a 70,536-square-foot addition, renovation of the 72,391-square-foot existing union and renovation of the 23,196-square-foot Burney Center. In addition a courtyard and colonnade will be built to connect the three facilities. All work is expected to be complete by spring 2007.

Nearly four years in the planning, the union addition is a significant step in the life of UNCW as the nature and number of students has changed along with the caliber and quantity of services provided to those students. The original union facility was completed in 1983 when the student population was approximately 5,000. Today’s student body numbers 11,500, and the union and its companion Warwick Center, which opened in 1991, support some 11,000 events each year with more than 400,000 people in attendance.