Student Union facilities are getting upgrades

UTSA’s Student Unions on the Main and Downtown campuses are receiving some much-needed TLC.

Oct. 18, 2019 — UTSA’s Student Unions on the Main and Downtown campuses are receiving some much-needed TLC. 

A series of upgrades is planned for the facilities, starting with the oldest of the buildings, which was built in 1986 on Main Campus. The Ski Lodge is getting updated flooring, LED lights and the addition of AV equipment near the fireplace area. 

“We’re installing a video screen above the fireplace and speakers in the walls,” said Herb Ganey, Student Union executive director. “It’ll be a really nice gathering spot and event spot when it is completed.” 

These first floor renovations are slated for completion in November. 

⇒ See a list of upgrades planned for the Student Unions.

“The part where the Chili’s restaurant is, that’s probably the most extensive renovations that we’re doing right now,” Ganey said. “The building is over 30 years old, and the plumbing was in horrible condition. The plumbers told us that they were afraid to run a snake through the lines to try to eliminate clogs because the pipes were just so fragile.” 

An architect’s rendering of a restroom-adjacent hallway in the Main Campus Student Union.

Along with new plumbing, the restrooms will see some big changes. “We want to be a bit forward thinking,” Ganey said, “so the restrooms will be identical. In other words, you really won’t be able to tell a men’s restroom from a women’s restroom. There won’t be any urinals in the men’s restrooms. Every restroom will be all toilets with what we call an enhanced privacy partition, which is almost to the floor and ceiling.” 

Family restrooms with a baby changing station also will be added.

All the work will be conducted in phases, and about a dozen of the meeting rooms on the second floor of the Main Campus facility will get a new look. The first phase includes the Mesquite, Redbud, Chicano/a, and Paloverde meeting rooms, which are expected to be done at the end of this month. 

The second phase will start in December with the Magnolia, Pecan, Buckeye, Hawthorne, Ash and Anaqua rooms. 

“Eventually, every meeting room will be done, but because there are events on the schedule,” Ganey said, “we’re doing them four or five rooms at a time to quickly go in, give them a refresh, and then move on to the next set.” 

Going with a more modern look, the rooms are going to be painted grey with blue and orange accents while also getting new carpet, LED lighting, new chair rails, credenzas and cabinetry, and updated AV equipment. 

An architect’s rendering of the Ski Lodge, on the ground floor of the Main Campus Student Union.

Ganey said there are plans to make the meeting rooms’ technology more user-friendly too. “Right now, you have to call an AV technician to do certain things,” he explained. “We’re replacing a lot of the projectors and screens with large video monitors and wireless capability. So let’s say you reserve a meeting room and you have a presentation. You won’t need to connect to the projector and all of that. Just using Wi-Fi from your laptop, you could connect and show your presentation on the video screen.” 

Other projects are expected to start in December and be completed by February 2020 for the Travis and Harris rooms as well as the Ballrooms and Ballroom Galleria in the H-E-B Student Union. 

“The Harris and Travis rooms are two of the biggest rooms we have. We’re going to knock down the wall between them and put in an air wall,” Ganey said. “If someone needs a bigger space, we can open up that wall.” 

When the two rooms are combined they’ll accommodate more than 200 people. The Ballrooms and Ballroom Galleria will see new lighting as well as floors, refinished walls and new furniture. 

On the Downtown Campus the Student Union, the Information Desk and Game Room are all getting upgrades as well as a Roadrunner Pantry. The pantry, which is for students in need, will be housed on the first floor of the Durango Building (DBB 1.306) and will be open in January 2020 in time for Roadrunner Days, Ganey said. 

During remodeling, some events may need to be relocated, but the staff is working to ensure none are canceled. “We’re going to do everything we can to find suitable space for everyone who has a reservation while these things are going on,” Ganey said. “It may take us a little while, so we just ask for a little bit of patience.” 

Once the Student Union improvements are completed, they’ll help elevate the event venues for their campuses. “We’re excited about it,” Ganey said. “The rooms will be nicer and have more improved technology. So when the students are in their meetings or events it will be an enhanced atmosphere. I think they will enjoy their experiences a lot more.”

— Valerie Bustamante

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