Construction of Auburn University's new Office of Information and Technology building and third parking deck is underway.
"It has been a decision we have been working toward, but it took a while to get the resources," said Bliss Bailey, executive director of OIT. Construction of the building started in January, with a goal to be finished by February 2011.
The new building is located next to the University Medical Clinic on Lem Morrison Drive, and takes up the same lot as the AU marching band's old practice field.
"We had to move to a new field, but what we did get out of it was one of the nicest practice fields in the country," said Jamie Bowman, graduate assistant with the band.
The OIT building had a $22 million budget, with help from bond money, OIT reserves and other sources.
The new building will be divided into two parts.
Part A will be used for reception, with two main entries, and part B will be the data center, with a nice and secure computer room, Bailey said.
The new location will help reduce the cooling cost by 20 to 30 percent.
Bailey said the data center will be much more reliable, with an uninterrupted power supply.
"If a sustained outage occurs, the generators will power the room and keep things on and cool," Bailey said.
OIT has employees in seven different locations, including Haley Center and the Student Center, and they need to work more closely together, Bailey said.
OIT's current building, Parker Hall, is prone to flooding and has had water rise into it multiple times.
The move for the band may cause game days to be hectic, as parking has been the biggest problem since there is no straight path from Goodwin to the new field, Bowman said.
However, the move has also sparked a new goal for the department.
The band department has been given an estimate of $15 million as the amount needed to build a new band building.
The University has made a contribution, and the band will be able to raise funds for the rest of the money.
Along with the new OIT building are plans for Auburn's third parking deck.
"The parking deck is a piece of a much bigger transportation program," said Catherine Love, civil engineer in the Facilities Division at Auburn.
The cost of the parking deck is $9.6 million, and it will have 600 spaces.
The division of spaces between faculty and students has not been decided.
It is possible there will be more faculty and Hill dorm spaces available because many Hill dorm spaces are currently taken for OIT, Love said.
The parking deck will have motorcycle and bicycle parking, with a parking pass window for visitors.
There will be a transit stop, with covered parking for buses and students and a few vending machines.
"The intention was for the deck to be open when the OIT building opened, but it looks like it will be next spring or summer," Love said.
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