The team of Omni Architects and Perkins+Will was selected to design a $175 Million renovation and expansion of the existing Student Center. Originally constructed in 1938 and expanded in 1963 and 1982, the Student Center was again experiencing a space crunch and was no longer able to fully meet the needs of the students, faculty, staff and other constituents. The renovation and expansion is part of an overall plan to enhance student life across campus - a plan that is further necessitated by an ambitious housing revitalization. Among the improvements planned for the Student Center are updated student activity and study spaces; dining and retail operations; parking; bookstore and other amenities in support of student success.

Omni and Perkins+Will have been collaborating on the Student Center for over a decade, beginning with a feasibility study in 2004, and subsequent renovations in 2009 and 2011 that focused heavily on the repair, upgrade and improvement of existing building infrastructure systems that had exceeded their useful life or needed to be upgraded to meet current building code requirements. Aesthetic and architectural improvements were made in support of infrastructure upgrades.

The current project will target LEED certification and will incorporate best principles of energy and product conservation, resulting in both short and long-term savings through the use of appropriate LEED principles, Energy Start equipment options, and environmentally responsible installations.

The Student Center hosts over 9,000 events each year with a patron traffic count of 1.3 million persons. With this heavy traffic load, this project will be phased to ensure minimal disruption to operations. Final project completion is scheduled for 2016.