| Emory Report | July 14, 1997 |
Volume 49, No. 35 |
A small piece of the master planning process will become a reality this summer when North Kilgo is closed from Cox Hall to Cannon Chapel and a prototype streetscape is created there. That project will make Emory's planning process distinctive from those of other universities in that Emory will be implementing it before finishing the plan, according to Earle Whittington, senior project manager in the department of campus planning and construction.
"President Bill Chace wanted to make a strong point that we're serious about the implementation of the master plan," said Whittington. "He asked us to identify one project that could be completed this summer so that when students and faculty return in August they'll see that the results of this planning process will indeed be implemented."
An 18-foot wide pedestrian/service lane will be created where North Kilgo now runs between the Psychology Building and Callaway Center. The street closing will eliminate 38 parking spaces, many of which are now reserved or service spaces. Whittington said preliminary plans call for a brick walkway with extensive landscaping including trees, light poles, benches, trash cans and bike racks. Service vehicles will be accommodated much as they are between White Hall and Bishops Hall.
Whittington said the group is under tremendous pressure to complete the $500,000 project by mid-August and that it may be September before the project is completed. A design workshop for "The Kilgo Project" was held on July 7 and 8. Beers Construction, which already has extensive construction equipment and crews on campus for the Woodruff Library expansion project, has been awarded the project, and landscape architects and engineering firms are under contract. "Beers Construction did a good bit of streetscape work for ACOG so they're used to working under extreme time and budget pressures," said Whittington.
"Our biggest problem may be getting bricks," he continued. "There's a 10-week lead time from the manufacturer for brick to match that in Rudolph Courtyard in front of Bishops Hall, which will be custom-produced."
A kiosk prototype is also being developed for the Kilgo Project. "The Student Government Association offered to fund a kiosk prototype that will be placed between Cox Hall and the Dobbs Center, where there is a temporary kiosk," said Whittington. "We plan to use one of these prototype kiosks in the Kilgo project too."