YOUNGSTOWN STATE Centennial vision comes into focus

The plan includes an overhaul of the student center.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State University's board of trustees heard an ambitious, multimillion-dollar proposal to revamp the campus in time for the college's centennial in 2008.
The board is expected to adopt a resolution endorsing the framework of the plan at its March 18 meeting. On Thursday, its finance and facilities committee recommended the plan's adoption.
Points
The Centennial Campus Master Plan has five key provisions:
*Constructing a new building for the Williamson College of Business Administration, currently housed at Williamson Hall.
*Expanding Moser and Ward Beecher halls to house laboratories for life sciences and engineering.
*A major overhaul of Kilcawley Center to make it a true student center. This would include the construction of an atrium, relocating office space and improving the building's entrances. Also envisioned is additional space for student lounges and more restaurants at the student center.
*Remaking the outdoor area at the center of campus into a "green lawn" space with more sidewalks and open-air locations to make it more friendly and inviting.
*Continuing efforts to more fully integrate the campus into the immediate neighborhoods and the city's downtown. This would also include making the entranceways to YSU more accessible and attractive.
Trustees heard the plan's framework from Hunter Morrison, director of YSU's Center for Urban and Regional Studies, and David Reid, a senior urban designer with Urban Design Center of Northeast Ohio. YSU has a consulting contract with the Urban Design Center, based in Cleveland.
'Significant investment'
The cost of the proposal is uncertain because it will evolve over time, but YSU officials say it will be in the millions of dollars.
"It's a significant investment," Morrison said. "We want to make significant progress by 2008. A university with 100 years needs to look at the next 100 years."
YSU President Dr. David C. Sweet said the university intends to pay for the projects through funds obtained from the state's capital budget and private donations and is willing to borrow money.
"We want a total plan for future generations," Sweet said. "This allows us and future boards and leaders to have a blueprint for the future."
YSU is in the process of selecting an architect to design a new home for Williamson College, and will look at sites to relocate it, Sweet said. The university would then use Williamson Hall for temporary class space when improvements are made to other buildings, Morrison said.
"The new Williamson building would say, "Hey, welcome,'" said Reid, noting the new building would have many more windows than the current structure. "It would have doors that say, 'You're invited to come in.' It's got to have life to it."
The master plan envisions expansions to Moser and Ward Beecher halls for lab space, and a bridge connecting the two buildings.
"We want to enhance the facilities and space to contribute to the quality of life on campus," Morrison said.
YSU's master plan would incorporate the recommendations of a number of other Youngstown studies, Morrison said, including Youngstown 2010, the YSU Space Utilization Study, the Wick Park Model Neighborhood Plan and the Smoky Hollow Development Plan.
YSU has sought and will continue to seek input from neighborhood organizations, businesses, churches, museums, the Youngstown Board of Education and nonprofit groups near the university as well as city officials and others on this plan, Morrison said.
"This process isn't solely focused on our needs," he said. "We've talked to many of our neighbors."