In February, the University of Toledo Board of Trustees approved a proposed $400 million master plan update that would make significant changes to the main campus.
Jason Toth, UT’s Senior Vice President for Administration, Facilities and Construction, and Supply Chain presented the master plan to trustees. Intended to “reenergize” the campus, the plan will cost between $300 to $400 million and take five to seven years to complete.
In addition to renovations to the Student Union, the plan calls for the demolition of Rocket Hall, Bowman-Oddy, Wolfe Hall, and Health and Human Services.
“We look to reenergize the heart of campus, leveraging our Centennial Mall to create a robust sense of place and improve the campus experience,” Toth said.
The plan includes the addition of a one-stop shop welcome center between Tucker and McKinnon Halls and the construction of a new College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics building. The new science building will be built where the Health and Human Services building currently stands, after which Bowman-Oddy and Wolfe Halls will be torn down.
These changes will push the remainder of the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences to the Health Science campus.
The Department of Communications, which is housed in Rocket Hall, will move into an empty space in the Law Center.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to explore a new space that’s going to be suited to our needs and our students’ needs,” Communications Department Chair Benjamin Myers said.
The Student Union is also slated to undergo major renovations, including “getting rid of all the heavy concrete, putting in skylights, putting in glass walls,” according to Toth. “Just making it much more light and lively,” he said.
There are also plans to connect the second floors of the Student Union and the Carlson Library with a skywalk.
Progress on the new plan will ramp up slowly, according to Toth. “You probably won’t see a lot of activity on campus for about a year,” he said.
