With a crash and some rumbling, the ROTC will break a nearly century-long tradition this December as the U demolishes their present home and university relic, the Mines Building.
The building has housed the Military Science department and the Reserve Officers Training Corps program since 1927. Campus Design and Construction scheduled the building demolition for early next semester. The Military Science department and ROTC’s new home will be on the second floor of Carlson Hall, which formerly housed the history department before it moved to the new Tanner Humanities Building this semester.
Carlson Hall’s location near Rice-Eccles Stadium will provide increased access to TRAX, buses and parking, which Lt. Colonel Jack Sturgeon, chairman of the Military Science department, thinks will benefit students.
Campus planners are not sure what will go up in place of the Mines Building.
“(The Mines is) an antiquated building that costs too much to upgrade,” said Eric Browning, a campus planner. “There’s a need in the area for a parking structure.”
While U planners raise funds and decide between the two most likely options, a parking structure or a classroom building, parking in the Presidents’ Circle area will receive some relief.
“Temporarily, the cheapest thing to do is put some pavement there for parking,” Browning said.
The Utah State Board of Regents instituted both the ROTC and Military Science programs at the U in 1919. Both programs have spent more than 90 percent of their time at the U in the Mines building. Sturgeon said the biggest drawback is the loss of their long history in the Mines Building.
“(The Mines location has) a good footprint for us,” he said. “But one thing is, there is absolutely no parking here.”
Jeffrey Knight, a professor of military science, said he avoids parking problems by arriving at the building early in the morning. Like many of his colleagues, Knight’s opinion on the move has yet to be determined.
“The U has moved into a certain circumstance where it has a few departments playing musical buildings,” he said. “We’ve got our own building right now that we handle security for and that’s nice, but OK we’re moving8212;business is going to continue.”
A new building is under construction near the Mines Building. The same contractor will handle the Mines demolition and renovation to minimize the obstruction of sidewalk traffic in the vicinity. The Mines construction project should only take two to three months once it begins early next semester, Browning said.