Ave Maria University Announces Plans for New Multi-Purpose Building
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Published on Thursday, 03 November 2016 19:02
Ave Maria University has announced plans for its first new major construction project in more than five years – a multi-purpose academic building that will house performance venues, classrooms, a nursing lab, offices and the Mother Teresa Museum.
AMU said in a news release that the total cost of the project is expected to be $11 million, of which the school has raised $6.5 million that will enable it to proceed with building the first phase. That phase, expected to begin early in 2017 to be completed by the end of the year, will encompass the overall structure of the one-story building and completion of the interior of the wing that will house a 125-seat auditorium which will be used for for the school's popular Shakespeare in Performance program as well as academic lectures and other purposes.
The final phase of construction will begin once the remaining funding has been secured, the university said in a news release. When completed, the building will include a 400-seat performance hall, classrooms, a nursing laboratory, 13 private offices and a permanent home for the Mother Teresa Museum that is currently located in leased space across from the campus in the Ave Maria town center.
At 37,000 square feet, the building will be similar in size to the Tom Golisano Field House, which was completed in early 2011 and was the last building added to the campus. The new building will be located across the AMU quad from the Paul Henkels Academic Building.
As a performance venue, the new building is considerably scaled down from a 1,250-seat performing arts center that was initially annnounced in Febraury, 2014, and left on the drawing board about 18 months later.
