Construction will commence for a $24 million renovation project of Old Union at the end of this year. Consequently, the community centers housed in Old Union — the Asian American Activities Center, El Centro Chicano and the Native American Cultural Center — will be relocated temporarily to a complex of portable modular units in the parking lot at the intersection of Santa Teresa and Lomita.

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The University plans to spend $24 million to restore Old Union into a student center. #gallery http://daily.stanford.org/image/full/5114
Nina Gonzaludo

The University plans to spend $24 million to restore Old Union into a student center.

Old Union’s administrative offices — including the Offices of Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid, the Registrar, Student Financial Services, the cashier, Housing Assignment Services and Residential Education — will be permanently moved.

The renovation team plans to restore Old Union to its original role as a central hub for students; 31,000 square feet of new space for meeting rooms, a large “living room” common area and a cafe will be added. The community centers currently housed in Old Union will return to their original locations once construction is complete.

Interim Dean of Student Affairs Greg Boardman said the project is slated to finish up by fall of 2006.

While relocating to the modular units will be a major change, community center staff members said they are optimistic that the project won’t affect the quality of their programming.

“The amount of space we are going to have in the portables will be comparable to the space here,” said El Centro Chicano Assistant Director Chris Gonzalez Clarke. He added that student office space will be cut back the most, but that the two most used spaces, the computer cluster and the lounge — which also serves as meeting space for multiple student groups — would not change significantly.

Denni Woodward, the assistant director of the Native American Cultural Center, concurred that the modular units are comparable in size to the center’s current computer cluster, lounge and office space.

The relocation is scheduled for December, Woodward said. It will affect the center’s programming in several ways — the library must be rearranged, storage must be obtained for student groups and meals prepared in the center’s kitchen will have to be cooked elsewhere.

Despite these changes, Woodward said the Dean of Students Office has been very supportive.

“It’ll be nice having them closer to us,” said Ben Davidson, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Resource Center, or LGBT-CRC. The center is located in the Fire Truck House, across the street from where the portable units will be placed.

“We’ve been thinking about having a block party with all the centers,” he said.

Directors and staff members at the Asian American Activities Center could not be reached for comment.

The renovation will include improvements to building systems, disability access with elevators in the Clubhouse and the Nitery, seismic strengthening and changes to the interiors of the buildings.

Many student publications, the ASSU, the Office of Student Activities and the Office for Religious Life will permanently move into Old Union once the project is complete.