New and ongoing projects to join liberty in the near future

Construction continues around campus as the new school year begins, with one facility nearing completion and four more on the way. 

Liberty has completed two large projects over the course of the past year. In January, Liberty completed its Multipurpose Center used for practicing sports indoors. Also completed was the new Reber-Thomas Dining Center, which has officially opened with the capacity to seat almost 3,000 people. Now, the construction crew is gearing up for continued work on other projects for the upcoming year. 

One facility being added to the campus is a new dorm: Commons IV. This building will include close to 350 rooms, will stand at 9 stories high and will be adjoined to Commons III, according to Senior Vice President of Major Construction Dan Deter.

Additionally, a new Green Hall Parking Deck will soon undergo construction at the north end of campus. This deck will add 1,500 parking spaces for students and faculty at Green Hall, and Deter said that this facility will bring more convenient parking for Liberty’s sports fans. 

The Jerry Falwell Memorial Center, located next to the Hancock Welcome Center, has been a more challenging project due to the foundation being located on the clay terrain that mixed with this summer’s rain. When completed, this building will function as an educational, multipurpose space with room to hold conferences and events on campus. Deter explained that this center will be utilized for recruiting new students and as a tool to educate our incoming students about all the amenities Liberty has
to offer.

“We have an equestrian center, we have Camp Hydaway, we have Snowflex; it’s just a way for the students to see that,” Deter said. “And give a little touch of Dr. Falwell’s vision, but really to focus on ‘What is
Liberty today?”

The last construction site is at Hydaway Lake, with a surface area currently measuring 5 acres. Deter said that the goal size is 31 acres, which will accommodate crew team practice, fishing competitions, general boating recreation, summer camps and aquatic biology research.

“I don’t think there’s a university in the nation that can rival the amount of amenities that we can offer our students and our staff,” Deter said. 

When asked about his opinions on the construction, junior Alexander Knakal shared how he felt about the projects.

“Overall, it is cool to see that there’s constantly something new being put up,” Knakal said. “At times, I feel like it can be a little bothersome; depending on what they’re working on, it can get in the way, like a new traffic pattern or something like that. But overall, I feel pretty positive about any construction going on.”

Knakal also stated that he believes the new parking deck will be the most beneficial addition for students.

“I feel like we have a large number of (on-campus students), but a significant percentage of the students are commuters,” Knakal said. “Trying to get parking during the day can be a bit of a struggle sometimes, so I think adding as much parking as possible is very beneficial.”

The in-progress facilities are estimated to be complete by fall 2024. The Hydaway Lake expansion is an exception, as its completion date has not been determined.

Most of the future construction plans, according to Deter, have yet to be decided as well. The old Reber-Thomas Dining Hall will be repurposed once a new strategic plan for construction is devised.

“All the projects we do, we want to make sure they benefit the students,” Deter said. “And they accentuate the students’ experience while they’re here. They’re here for four years; we want to make sure it’s the best four years that we can offer.”

McKenzie is a news reporter. Follow her on X