Image by FIU, courtesy of Creative Commons.
Natalie Alatriste/Contributing Writer
Men wearing hardhats swarm the construction site behind the College of Business, rushing to complete the newest addition to the Modesto Maidique Campus—the Management and New Growth Opportunity building.
There are loud noises of heavy machinery, clanking of furniture and laughter among the workers. The vibe is upbeat as the workers of OHL Arellano put the finishing touches on this new mixed-use building, which will be used by the College of Business and FIU Online.
Randy Egues, the project manager for the building, tours the building with confidence, greeting everyone he passes. Egues, an FIU alumnus who graduated with a degree in environmental studies, has been working in the industry for 12 years.
The MANGO building is located northeast of the College of Law, directly west of the Ryder Business building.
Construction started at the beginning of May 2013 and the building will be ready for its grand opening by the end of September 2014.
Egues says the original due date, which was supposed to be during the summer, was pushed back because of revision requests by the end users.
“The building has a cool feature: it has a seven-story atrium. It’s essentially two buildings connected by bridges [for every floor], but it posed as a huge challenge,” he says.
The six-story building (with a mechanical penthouse, a storage warehouse on the roof of the building made of metal) will be shared between the College of Business and FIU Online.
The first floor, however, will be a dining area for the students, bringing two new dining options to campus—Taco Bell and Panda Express—plus a second Starbucks location.
The approximately 106,000-square-foot building contains three classrooms, two recording studios, used by professors from FIU Online to record lectures, conference rooms and offices.
The three classrooms, two auditorium-style and a smaller one with desks, are exclusively for the College of Business, along with the second, third and fourth floors.
FIU Online will be moving its offices completely over to the fifth and sixth floor of this building, with the fifth floor containing the two recording studios.
Though challenges were faced, Egues says his experience has overall been a great one.
“We have a very good construction team—both FIU and the design team—as well as our subcontractors that have made the project successful,” Egues said.
As far as design goes, Egues says it’s very “Pantherized.”
“I didn’t make the term up, but it’s what I was told, and it’s the best way to sum up the décor of the building,” he says.
In a nutshell, it means a lot of blue and gold.
But the building creators aren’t the only people excited. Student attitude towards the new dining offers are enthusiastic.
“It’s never a bad option to put another Starbucks,” says Hans Graubard, a business major at the University. “Implementing a Panda Express and Taco Bell definitely brings more diversity to the school, too. And since I’m a business major, I’m sure I’ll spend a lot of time there.”
-news@fiusm.com
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