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A spirit that is not afraid

Redeveloping Toomer's Corner

Option 4: "The Samford Diagonal" design. (Courtesy of Facilities Management)
Option 4: "The Samford Diagonal" design. (Courtesy of Facilities Management)

The eventual death of the Toomer's Oaks has been taken as an opportunity by the University to completely redesign Toomer's Corner.

A meeting was held Tuesday, Nov. 27 to get feedback from the community on four possible design schemes.

"This presents a fairly unique opportunity that hasn't existed for many years to redevelop Toomer's Corner and do something slightly or maybe significantly different than it is today," said Dan King, assistant vice president of facilities management. "It's an iconic space on campus, but there's room for improvement there."

The four possibilities were presented to audience members, who were then separated into groups to discuss the pros and cons of each design.

Changing the placement of the gate and path were considered, though most agreed that the gate should stay where they are.

In one plan, plots of grass were arranged beside the gates, so people couldn't walk around them, and the structure would be able to serve as an entrance to campus.

People generally agreed that the replacement oaks should be on either side of the gates and placed farther from the road than they are now.

Constructing metal arches over the road to be rolled and possibly provide a more attractive structure to hold streets lights was also considered.

Raising the street around Toomer's Corner to make the area safer for pedestrians was also one of the proposed ideas.

The designs will be restructured into two new possibilities based on audience feedback, which will then be narrowed down to one and presented to President Jay Gogue in the spring.


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