“It is by far the most cost-effective option that was available,” Student Body President Michael Umhoefer said. “(The option) saves the students the most amount of money, and it also keeps us closer to our original timetable. . It basically avoids a situation of a large scale remodel or redesign.”

The original plan would have required the Council Oak Tree to be removed, but since the decision was made to save the tree, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Beth Hellwig said it was decided upon that the committee should explore other site options. One in particular would have entailed the building moving further into the current Davies parking lot and to move some of the building’s different functions around.

“A number of the ideas were interesting, but it would have taken longer to redesign, and the cost would have been more for the architecture firm,” Hellwig said.

As a result, the chosen option will preserve the Council Oak Tree and a 50-foot radius around it. The building will still be in the space between the Little Niagara Creek and the Phillips Hall parking lot, but the new plan shifts it to the east, away from the Council Oak Tree and the nursing building, Hellwig said. Construction on the $48.8 million, 156,000-square-foot, three-story building is set to begin in late spring of this year. Occupancy is tentatively to occur in late fall 2012. The project will be funded through segregated fees, which are paid by students.

“I was very happy (to hear the Chancellor’s decision),” Umhoefer said. “I knew it was the best decision for the students and the money they have been spending on the new building, and it was something I talked to him extensively about – my personal stance of supporting the shift of the building – and I’m happy to see he agreed.”

Another implication of the Chancellor’s decision is that the new Davies Center will impede on a 160-foot distance from Phillips Science hall that was originally intended to be used for an expansion of the building in the future, Hellwig said. Because of this, an expansion of Phillips in that area is unlikely.

“I think the chancellor felt that 20 years from now a new science building would be different from the current configuration,” Hellwig said. “He felt like (the new Davies) was a building students could enjoy now and should take priority over a building 20 years from now that may have very different needs.”

Hellwig said the next step is for the committee to have a series of meetings to discuss where they are at in the process of the project, what the building will look like and any changes that will be made. The committee has a meeting today, and Hellwig said the committee will know more about the status of the project after it meets. Umhoefer said the committee took time out for a couple of months over break but that it won’t affect the project negatively and could actually help it in terms of the bidding market.