Board approves construction on Chevron, sports complex

The Property and Facilities Committee of Pitt’s Board of Trustees approved plans for several… The Property and Facilities Committee of Pitt’s Board of Trustees approved plans for several new construction and renovation projects Monday afternoon.

The board voted to approve a $32 million expansion to the Chevron Science Center. The 16-month-long project will create a three-story addition above the Ashe Auditorium and will provide more than 10,000 square feet of laboratory space.

The Olympic Sports Complex, which will be located behind Trees Hall, will provide a venue for Pitt’s baseball, softball and soccer teams. The complex will feature artificial turf playing surfaces and a 23,000-square-foot support building. Construction is slated to begin shortly after contracts are awarded in July. Students can expect the facility to open in fall 2010.

Other items approved by the board include the purchase of the Concordia Club. The club, located on O’Hara Street in Central Oakland since 1913, has agreed to sell the building to the University for no more than $2.1 million.

Executive Vice Chancellor Jerome Cochran said that “the building lends itself probably more to student usage.”

Pitt students can expect to see other small changes around campus, such as an upgrade to the ventilation system in the basement and first floor of the Cathedral of Learning. University officials said this upgrade is necessary to comply with certain building codes.