The spring and summer months saw a string of milestones reached in the construction of the new University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business Administration building at 14th and Vine streets. Scheduled for completion in summer 2017, the $84 million, 240,000-square-foot structure is the largest academic building project in recent history at UNL.
“This clearly will impact the physical look on our campus, but it represents so much more than that,” said former UNL chancellor Harvey Perlman. “It’s about building a college of business administration that can excel, can compete with our Big Ten colleagues and raise the profile of the business community in Nebraska.”
Perlman spoke in April at the Topping Off Steel Ceremony, an event marking the milestone of the final steel beam being lifted into place atop the building. The event featured remarks from Perlman, Dean Donde Plowman, Regent Howard Hawks and Alexander Lahargoue, a marketing major from Olathe, Kansas. CBA dignitaries, faculty, staff and friends signed the beam prior to the ceremony.
Window placed at new building on May 6
CBA celebrated 400 days of construction on May 6. Faculty and staff celebrated the halfway point of construction with a picnic on the East Memorial Stadium Plaza. Attendees could look across Memorial Mall and watch as the 220-foot tower crane lifted dark blue panes of glass into the building’s cube-shaped structure and limestone pre-cast rock onto the exterior walls of the building.
“It’s really taking shape, and I see more of our CBA personnel walking past the site all the time admiring our new home,” said Rik Barrera, assistant dean for business and chief operating officer, at the picnic. “I’m getting calls and questions from people who walk or drive by the site and want to know more.”
In August, CBA hosted the last Back to School Bash held at the current building. More than 500 CBA students, parents, faculty, staff, alumni and business partners attended the celebration, which coincided with the 500th day of construction.
Shortly after, contractors removed the crane that lifted many of the key pieces of the building into place. The project reaches 600 days of construction shortly after Thanksgiving 2016 and 700 days in early March 2017.
“The changes on the corner of 14th and Vine over this last year are remarkable. The dedication of our current alumni to provide a state of the art home for our future alumni is a huge milestone,” said Plowman. “Our growth has been tremendous. A new building, continued enrollment growth and a larger more engaged CBA community are just a few things we can be proud of.”
New Building webpage