Ferguson Construction to build new campus mall for University of Dayton

March 2010

DAYTON — The University of Dayton’s latest improvement project, an expanded central mall, will be the “postcard picture for the campus,” said Beth Keyes, UD’s assistant vice president for facilities.

Ferguson Construction started work on the project on Monday, March 1, beginning the transformation of the mall between Kennedy Union and Marycrest Hall into a rolling, sculpted green space.

Construction of the mall will cost more than $2 million, Keyes said. The current phase is scheduled to be completed by August for new student move-in and orientation.

“I think it will be one of those areas that we can really recruit well with,” Keyes said.

The mall will include “open play areas,” as well as places for gatherings, programming and organizational events, she said.

The project will increase green space and add walking paths and infrastructure for a fountain. Plans also call for a terraced amphitheater, benches and seat walls, and more than 100 new trees to provide shade.

“We wanted to create a safe and attractive connection with the mall and the rest of the campus, because it is very much a crossroads,” Keyes said.

UD installed a temporary mall eight years ago after relocating tennis courts from the central campus.

Keyes said finishing the mall was made possible by the demolition of UD’s Mechanical Engineering building, which dated to the World War II era and needed cost-prohibitive repairs.

Labs from that building were relocated to Kettering Laboratories and College Park Center, Keyes said.

Ferguson Construction Company, a general contractor with offices in Sidney, Dayton, Columbus and Indiana is heading up the expansion, which was approved in January by UD’s trustees.