The first major upgrade to the Albright Health Center since the building’s construction in 1984 will soon begin.

The renovations will include structural improvements to the building’s interior and the addition of new fitness equipment.

Campus Recreation Director Steven Tribble said the groundbreaking is not set in stone but is slated to start in December 2003 or January 2004.

He said that funding was provided through an “SGA resolution of $650,000.”

An additional $200,000 was later approved by SGA and the Board of Regents to update the heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) system.

A $20 fee paid by students each semester goes into the University Center Reserve Fund, which funded the project.

Tribble said the project will be completed in phases. First, the gymnastics room will be relocated and then the weight room will be expanded.

The current gymnastics room is located in the heart of the building and will play a pivotal role in the new design.

It will be turned into a new weight room adjacent to the current weight room. It is currently used for recreational classes and physical education courses.

The current weight room has 1500 square feet of space.

The expansion will add 3200 square feet of space.

Possible design plans for the new weight room include creating a mezzanine level to the room and changing the room’s concrete outside wall to a glass wall, according to Tribble.

“We need to replace that location first so that we can continue to use the space during construction,” said Tribble.

The gymnastics room will be relocated to a new multi-purpose room that will feature a rock-climbing facility, among other things.

“We’re removing three racquetball courts and we’re going to start construction of the new multi-purpose room first because that’s where the majority of the physical change is going to take place,” he said.

The multi-purpose room will be completed in April or May 2004.

Construction on the weight room, the final phase of the project, will begin in May and finish in August 2004, according to Tribble.

“That’s the very tentative game plan for it,” he said.