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Kilcawley Center poised for $10M makeover
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Youngstown State University’s Kilcawley Center's current southern entrance.
The center has become a patchwork of functions with a maze of circulation patterns.
By Harold Gwin
YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State University is looking at a $10 million renovation of its Kilcawley Center.
YSU’s student center is still “stuck in the 1970s,” according to a review by Burt Hill, the architectural firm used as a consultant on the project.
This would be part of the “phase two” funding that the university will borrow next year as it continues to finance a number of campus improvement projects, said Scott Schulick, chairman of the YSU Board of Trustees.
Jack Fahey, YSU executive director of student services, presented a preliminary Kilcawley Center renovation plan at a recent trustees’ Academic and Student Affairs Committee meeting. That plan proposes expanding the building, revamping and expanding its entrances to include atriums, expanding the Chestnut Room (a large, open meeting room on the first floor) and basically opening up the first floor of the two-story structure, he said.
It will take about a year to develop a final plan, he said.
Students say Kilcawley no longer meets their needs. It doesn’t seem like a student center, and it’s not a student destination, Fahey said.
The current facility was built in three phases, with the initial construction in the 1960s and additions made in 1974 and 1980.
Student space in the building has experienced significant loss since 1980 as other programs have moved into the building, Fahey said.
YSU’s student center no longer compares favorably with its competitors on other college campuses, he said.
Burt Hill pointed out that student centers have become a major drawing card to prospective students, and they usually offer a host of amenities, becoming the social hub of the university.
Kilcawley, though well-maintained, is a patchwork of functions with a maze of circulation patterns that have evolved over time. There is no clear path from one point to another and little segregation of conference and student functions, according to the consultant.
Fahey said there are some critical needs to be addressed, namely quality spaces for students such as computer labs, places for study groups to meet, lounges, social and dining. There also is a need for programming spaces.
The preliminary plan proposes reorganizing space around north-south and east-west axes to make it easier to navigate through the building with similar functions grouped together.
YSU needs a facility that helps it compete for new students, one that is modern, attractive and visitor-friendly and offers some “wow” spaces, Fahey added.
That need might be questioned in light of record enrollment growth this year, but the Kilcawley project is looking at the long term.
A high-quality student center is part of the mix Youngstown State University needs to continue to attract students, said Hunter Morrison, director of campus planning and community partnerships.
A tentative construction timetable shows work beginning on the center in July 2010 with the job completed in June 2012.
Funding would come from a $20 million loan the trustees plan to take out in early 2010 that also will help finance the WATTS Center indoor athletic facility, pay for the demolition of the M2 parking deck on Lincoln Avenue and its replacement with a surface lot, and pay for planning for a new College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics building.