Construction on several major projects is ahead of schedule as fall semester ends, said Danny Sniff, associate vice president for facilities planning.

In addition to construction of new buildings, Sniff said the University will be renovating older dormitories soon.

Increasing green space on campus and decreasing the environmental impact of buildings on the environment are also a top goal for the coming semesters.

“One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced over the last couple of years is just the cost of construction continuously goes up,” Sniff said.

Here’s a look back at what happened this semester and what’s expected to come in the following semesters:

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Construction on the Tate Center expansion and parking deck is far ahead of the University’s most recent timetable, Sniff said.

Workers are beginning to pour the first floor of the building and parking deck, and there will be visible progress when students return for spring semester, he said. Sniff said the expansion is set for completion by early 2009.

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Sniff said the new Lamar Dodd School of Art at East Campus is slated to open next fall.

As work on the building comes to a close, Sniff said University architects are working on several environmental initiatives around the building. These initiatives include adding green space and a rain garden, a specialized garden which uses drainage techniques and selected plants to slowly filter storm water to avoid polluting runoff to nearby bodies of water.

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The University was given the go-ahead on an athletics master plan, and will be pursuing research further in the following months, Sniff said.

“The next couple of years we’ll be investigating all the Athletic Association sports and venues” to find areas of possible improvement, he said.

Earlier this semester, officials dedicated the Stegeman Coliseum Training Facility. The facility centralizes lounges, offices and practice facilities formerly in separate buildings, University architect Gwynne Darden said in an August interview.

“Each of those programs . will be a stronger program because all of those entities are now tog-ether. It’s definitely a top-tier facility,” Darden said.

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Sniff said University architects are working to develop a plan for the former Navy Supply Corps School campus, where the University hopes to hold medical school classes.

“Primarily we’ve been working with what kinds of things we’re going to do with the buildings,” Sniff said.

Architects are working with officials from other departments, he said, to develop a proposal to send to the U.S. Department of Education so the University can obtain the property from the federal government.

Sniff said architects are working on designs for new intramural fields, a band practice facility to be located near the intramurals and a new parking deck near the new art school.

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University architects made strides this semester in increasing green space and being environmentally-conscious, Sniff said. Converting D.W. Brooks Drive into D.W. Brooks Mall, a green space, and building rain gardens on Lumpkin Street are a great start, he said, but there’s more work to be done.

Work on the next phase of D.W. Brooks Drive will begin in the spring.

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The Physical Plant undertook an $850,000 project to correct water damage at Dean Rusk Hall at North Campus. Rusk Hall, which cost $6 million in 1996, suffered from shoddy construction and a poor design, said Don Tadlock, construction director, in an October interview.

Repairs included replacing all 60 windows and fixing the building’s mortar work. Workers are repairing the building during the day and night, and repairs are expected to be complete when students return from winter break, Tadlock said.