West Campus Undergoing $24 Million Construction And Renovation Project

West Campus is undergoing a $24,373,987 construction and renovation project focused on improving the student experience at the Doral-based school.  

The project is expected to be completed by January of 2022. 

“We wanted to have spaces which are aesthetically beautiful and engaging so that campus life is rewarding and memorable,” said Alexandra Okubo-Damas, the West Campus director of campus administration.

Here is some of the work that is being done:

Room 1109, which was previously a gym, is being transformed into a multipurpose room to host workshops, club rush events and tutoring sessions. That portion of the project started in April

The North Warehouse, which has 37,780 square feet in the northern part of building 2000, is being transformed into two floors that will accommodate a student hub, Maker’s Space, a multi-purpose lab room, a solution center, a creative content lab, beam me in-and-out classrooms, an undergrad research center and humanities and music classrooms. Work began in June of 2020.

“It’s going to be like a creative space and safe space for students to hang out with their friends and study,” said Katherine Padilla, West Campus’ Student Government Association president. 

The student hub will feature three soundproof booths for students to record a podcast or practice for their speech classes. 

Maker’s Space will be an area where students can get hands-on experience and receive lessons about technological items used to create, design and manufacture products. To request the room, students will have to demonstrate a basic knowledge of equipment such as a CNC machine and a laser cutter.

The multi-purpose lab room will offer courses in physics, engineering, robotics, alternative energy and more. In the undergrad research center, students will engage in research opportunities depending on their discipline. 

Students who want to improve their digital literacy skills, like podcasting, video production and digital marketing will be able to do so at the solution center. The beam me in-and-out classrooms will serve as a center with the ability to hold in-person courses and digitally transfer information to other campuses.

“We want to cultivate students’ inner creativity and critical thinking,” Okubo-Damas said. “Whether in the creative content zone crafting videos and podcasts or in the Maker Space building models to the virtual reality lab, we want to have students use all their senses and be active learners.”

The most recent renovations started in August on the third floor in building 1. That space will house the student life department and student services like ICED, Veteran Affairs, Single Stop, the food pantry, study rooms, learning resources and a café. When the remodeling is complete, the area will be renamed West Park.