The current status of the recreation and wellness center was presented to the University Union Board of Directors and Associated Students Inc. last Wednesday.

Stephen Garcia, chief financial officer and vice president of administration and business affairs and Ron Richardson, associate vice president of facilities services, discussed the recommendations created over the summer by the recreation and wellness center program validation committee.

At the meeting, Garcia and Richardson told the two parties that the bowling alley will be included in the center but that will be delayed until the second phase of the project. The bowling alley cost of approximately $2.5 million, combined with the costs to operate the facility, turned out to be incompatible with the current budget, Garcia said.

Approximately 5,000 square feet of the 142,000 square foot center was designated for the six-lane alley. This area will be reprogrammed for additional fitness center space and non-recreational spaces such as meditation rooms, gardens, lounges or game spaces.

President Alexander Gonzalez pre-approved the redesignation of space during the summer after being briefed by the validation committee. He has yet to come to a final decision, but made this preliminary decision so the design could begin, Garcia said.

Other recommendations include remodeling the Hinde Auditorium in the union into a movie theater and adding exterior lighting to the intramural athletic fields.

Neither project will be funded by money allocated for the recreation and wellness center. Instead, the university will be responsible for the funding of these additional recommendations because the referendum language did not include these two amenities.

All of the initial amenities ?” running track, fitness center, weight room, children’s center, basketball court, rock-climbing wall etc. ?” are still scheduled to be part of the recreation and wellness center, Richardson said.

The plans were also presented to Gonzalez and the architects of Ellerbe Becket, who are in charge of designing the center before this meeting.

“We presented this (to the president) with the architects there,” Garcia said. “He is very enthusiastic about the project.”

The validation committee met with Ellerbe Becket a few weeks ago to give input on the best way to “site” the building, union Director Leslie Davis said. This refers to the north-to-south and east-to-west design of the outside of the building ?” mainly the entrances and the exterior make-up.

The architects presented the committee with three possible site plans with different configurations that were all designed between June and September. Committee members discussed which they preferred and chose the plan that has “good access, a plaza area, allows for expansion and a buffer area from Parking Structure III,” Richardson said.

Ellerbe Becket is expected to come back with three floor plans in the next three to four weeks. After one plan is chosen, the university is then expected to present the plans to the CSU Board of Trustees for evaluation by January.

“This (design process) is a two month process,” Richardson said.

Both the Union board of directors and ASI also appointed representatives to the validation committee during their meetings.

The Union appointed student Leslie Barron, a junior health science major, as chair of the board and representative to the committee. ASI appointed student Peter Masters, a junior buisness major, as its representative to the committee.

Garcia said presenting the status of the project is the university’s way of updating students.

“Since I have been involved in the project, I gave the report to brief ASI and the Union board of directors to start informing the students,” Garcia said.

Garcia “touched on each project going on and it gave the board insight on where the projects are,” ASI President Angela Arriola said.

“ASI is on the same page now as the administration and has the information needed to move forward,” Arriola said.

ASI is scheduled to have its next board meeting next week while the Union board of directors is set to meet on Oct. 25.

Blake Ellington can be reached at [email protected]