Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Student Union Renovation Begins at UMass Amherst

  • 02/11/19

The Student Union building on the campus of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, closed for renovation in January. The renovation has been designed by Shepley Bulfinch.

When the building reopens for the fall 2020 semester, most interior walls will have been removed and the interior generally repartitioned. The ballroom, now on the main floor, will be one floor higher and feature exposed columns and trusses.

UMASS Student Union

Students will find an active “Main Street” style promenade with concentrated retail, student services, and dining options, and there will be a new entry and outdoor plaza with a streamlined connection to the Lincoln Campus Center. Other renovations include:

  • A consolidated media center serving the Daily Collegian, UVC-TV19, and WMUA that is positioned so activity is visible from the “Main Street.”
  • Expanded student business space.
  • New meeting, activity, and assembly space.
  • Cape Cod Lounge will be repurposed into new, divisible, multipurpose areas for medium-sized assembly and function space.
  • Mechanical and electrical systems will be updated.

Featured

  • Round Rock ISD Completes New Early College High School

    Round Rock ISD near Austin, Texas, recently announced that construction is complete on a new, 46,500-square-foot campus for Early College High School, according to a news release. The new facility will allow the school’s students and staff to move from portables into a permanent building and increase its enrollment to 500.

  • Zurn Elkay Releases 2025 Sustainability Report

    Zurn Elkay Water Solutions recently announced the release of its annual sustainability report, according to a news release. The 2025 report discusses the organization’s efforts to maintain good environmental stewardship and the solutions provided in helping customers meet sustainability goals.

  • Illinois State University Breaks Ground on College of Fine Arts Transformation

    Illinois State University in Normal, Ill., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts transformation project, according to university news. The series of new constructions and renovations will upgrade spaces in Centennial East, the Center for the Visual Arts, and the Center for the Performing Arts, as well as replace the existing Centennial West facility with a new Commons Building.

  • Chartwells Launches Campus Dining Evaluation Framework

    Contract food-service management provider Chartwells Higher Education recently announced the launch of BLUEPRINT, according to a news release. The evaluation framework was designed to provide a data-driven and customizable roadmap towards optimizing campus dining services and, by extension, the student experience.