Temporary Commuter Services office spaces will be built in the Sage Point parking lots.

Construction is due to begin on Monday, Feb. 8 and will close the west side of section 3 of lot 87, on the corner of Sage Point buildings 813 and 814.

Frank Sitton, associate director for facilities with university housing, said construction will consist of removing parts of the parking lot and laying down pre-fabricated temporary buildings in that space. The buildings, which resemble semi-permanent construction trailers, will be trucked in fully assembled.

Shea Renner, a spokesperson for Commuter Services, said this is a temporary solution for employees until they find a supplementary space on campus to house the department.

Paige Townsend, a freshman in the business program, lives in Sage Point 812 where she generally parks her car outside her building in lot 87. She doesn’t usually have trouble finding a parking spot, but said she was concerned the construction project might change that.

“As long as it’s not overflowed and it’s not hard to find a parking spot, then it’s fine,” she said. “But if the construction is going to take up so much space that it makes it difficult for people who live here to park, then it’s kind of ridiculous to do it in the middle of the semester.”

The half of the closed portion designated for construction staging — contracting necessities, trucks and equipment, etc. — is expected to reopen within 60-90 days, prior to commencement in May 2016. However, the space devoted to the Commuter Services offices will be occupied indefinitely.

“They’re temporary, but I don’t know how long temporary means,” Sitton said. “It could be a year, it could be two or three.”

In the meantime, Commuter Services front desk operations will remain housed in the Annex building.

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