By Susannah Waite, Editor-in-Chief
Plans for an OCU LAW parking lot have been pushed back once again.
In Fall 2010, officials planned to have a new law school parking lot by Draper and Harris Halls completed by “February or March” 2011, according to previous reports in The Campus.
Brian Holland, chief financial officer, said plans have been delayed.
President Robert Henry was waiting on $30,000 invoices from three architectural contracting firms, according to the Nov. 3, 2010 issue of The Campus.
“We were waiting on architects’ drawings and now we have those,” Holland said. “Now we are waiting on the city for a permit.”
The reason for the delay was a misunderstanding between the contractors and the university he said.
“We did not know that we were supposed to get the permit,” Holland said.
The only thing the school is now waiting on is the permit so that ground can be broken, he said.
“The gravel lot that the students used to park in will probably still be used,” Holland said. “I’m sure commuters will park there.”
The parking lot will be exclusively for law students during normal law school hours, said Rick Hall, vice president for student affairs.
“This lot is being paid for by the law school,” he said. “This is why it will be for the law students.
“The new parking lot will free up some space for other students looking for parking.”
Jeff Castleberry, director of facilities, said the parking lot is being designed so law students will not have to park so far away from the law school.
He attributes the recent snowstorms to delays in breaking ground as well as the permit issues with the city.
“Hopefully, in about a week and a half, you will see work starting to be done,” Castleberry said.
By then, officials will have received the permit.
“We had originally aimed for the project to be done mid-spring,” he said. “Now we are pushing to get done at the end of spring.”
This article initially appeared in the Feb. 23 issue of The Campus newspaper.
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