Tree removal begins by Rose Arena; students mixed on surrounding fence

roseconstruction — Jeff Smith/Staff Photographer Arthur Fountain, a Mount Pleasant resident since 1951, watches as workers build the new CMU Events Center Tuesday from a sidewalk on East Broomfield Street. A total of 80 trees will be cleared to make way for the new Events Center. "I remember when they were just seedlings," Fountain said. "Its always sad when they remove trees. But I understand why they have to".

The $21 million CMU Events Center construction is resulting in tree removal and large fences blocking busy sidewalks.

According to a University Communications press release, 80 trees will be removed, 22 relocated and 34 to remain in their existing location. An additional 80 trees will be planted around campus to compensate for each removed tree.

Steve Lawrence, associate vice president of facilities management, said workers will complete the project in phases. The Rose Arena renovations are to be completed by October 2010, the practice gym and wrestling room by December 2010 and the renovations for the Student Activity Center area by February 2011.

Once construction of the Events Center is complete, new sidewalks in the area will accompany 49 new trees, 34 shrubs and 16,357 perennial flowers.

“It will have a totally new appearance,” Lawrence said. “New sidewalks will be installed because of the change in ground elevation and alignment to the new lobby entrance.”

Annoying, but needed

The fence surrounding the construction area has received mixed reviews from students, even though it will be surrounding Rose Arena for more a year until the construction is complete.

“The fence was annoying the first few times when I had to go around, but it’s good that it’s there,” said Manistee junior John Phillips. “It’s only in the way if I forget about it and take the crosswalk with the light instead of planning to take the other route ahead of time.”

Phillips said the fence is a needed safety precaution and is a necessary evil that comes with construction.

“The fence is a minor irritation, but isn’t construction always annoying?” he said. “In the end, things will look good and we’ll be glad we put up with it.”

Jackson sophomore Kelsey Miller said even though she heard the fence has made some people late for classes, the updates will be a good addition for campus.

“The fence is a little bit of a nuisance, and is not pretty to look at, but it just foreshadows what is to come for Rose, and that is exciting,” Miller said. “I think the renovations definitely need to be done. A lot of things on campus have been renovated and modernized and, with Rose being so small, it needs to match all the other updates on campus.”