Several new construction projects and renovations around the University are underway in order to benefit student life on campus.

“These projects add to the quality of student life. Students only spend about 15 hours a week in the classroom, most of the time they are not in the classroom. We work hard to make their experience outside the classroom pleasant,” said Mike Matherne, director of campus recreation.

The construction of the new location of Jazzman’s coffee shop near Ayo and Gouaux halls is on time and scheduled to be completed by the start of the fall semester. At the cost of about $750,000, the coffee shop will include indoor and outdoor seating, along with one drive-up window.

Sodexo, the University’s food services contractor, will manage the coffee shop.

The new two-story recreation center near the intersection of Bowie Road and Ardoyne Drive that is scheduled to be completed by August 2012 will include a cardio theater, dance studio, weight machines, cardio room, free-weight room, basketball and volleyball gyms, walking track and locker rooms.  

The $16 million project will be named in honor of Harold Callais, a great supporter of Nicholls and an entrepreneur who served on the state’s higher-education board.

Ellender Residence Hall is receiving a brand new heating and cooling system that will cost about $1.3 million.  The project is scheduled to be completed by June 30.

All three projects are being handled through the University’s 501(c)3 corporation. The corporation is funded through the sale of bonds, which is paid with student-assessed fees.

The completion of a courtyard between Beauregard and Peltier Halls is planned for August 2011. The cost of about $150,000, which is taken from student engagement fees, will include the removal of several trees, landscaping and a wall of greenery that will screen out the sound and sight of noisy equipment.