Big changes are in store for the Lowman Student Center this spring as phase two of construction on the building continues.
Phase one of the project started in June 2017. This phase, that was focused on expansion, added 80,000 square feet of additional space to the LSC building.
Phase two of the updates started in March 2019 with the goal of renovating the existing facility.
Director of the LSC Rob Webber said that students, faculty and staff should expect to see refreshed spaces on all three levels of the building.
“I think what’s great about the renovation is it will complement what the expansion has provided to the students, faculty and staff of Sam Houston, and that is a fresh sort of new dynamic and energized space,” Webber said. “The fabrics, finishes, paint schemes, everything that people have come to appreciate and enjoy about the expansion, you’re going to see that on the renovated side of the facility.”
The renovation will also bring new meeting rooms, updated technology in existing meeting rooms, an updated bookstore with lounge space, a new convenience store, a Starbucks and a new stairwell in the center of the existing facility.
“New meeting space, new lounge space, new vendors, lots of new things, but just I think overall a refreshed building that will feel very much like it belongs with the expansion, and I think what’s most exciting is it’s the building that our students deserve,” Webber said. “It’s a refreshed, exciting, dynamic, energized space and I think our students need that and deserve that kind of environment.”
Webber said that to this point updates have been met with excitement from the campus community.
“I think from students, faculty or staff we’re hearing really positive things,” Webber said. “We’re hearing really good things about the space, and I think the proof is in the pudding. If you walk the building, if you look at how our students are engaging with the space, I think that’s all the proof that you need to know that we’ve done a good job.”
The project is expected to be complete by May of this year.
