Coordinators for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Alumni Association have started finalizing designs for the new Alumni Park, which could break ground summer 2014.
Alumni Park will occupy the parking lot space that is currently between Memorial Union and the Red Gym, and will also extend into the blacktop area of the terrace.
The renovation plans are part of a long-term master plan from 2005, designed to improve eight blocks of campus. The plan starts at the Kohl Center, moves through Gordon Commons and University Square and finishes at the lakefront.
The first part of Alumni Park renovations, the construction of Goodspeed Family Pier, was completed this summer.
Wisconsin Alumni Association president and CEO Paula Bonner said the decision to build Alumni Park purposely coincides with the Memorial Union renovations as a way to create an “integrated lakefront.” The park would feature a main path lined with display boards that incorporate stories from alumni, a central green for gathering, an outdoor classroom and gardens to weave through the park.
Bonner explained Alumni Park is meant to inspire students by actively presenting the accomplishments of UW alumni, and help students connect by means of tradition and legacy.
“It’s going to help us celebrate every day … what it means to go here and kind of some of that unique sense of place and our commitment to making a change, being a catalyst for change in the world,” Bonner said.
The plans will go to the state’s building commission for approval in January. With state approval, construction would begin in the summer.
