Geasey Field almost ready for competition

Field hockey should return to action at home Sunday.

Construction on Geasey Field has been behind schedule for three weeks now, but Karen Auerbach, associate director of athletic communications, said it’s nearing completion and will be ready some time next week.

The new turf is down and set. All that remains are drawing the lines used for field hockey, lacrosse, softball, football and soccer.

Geasey Field has been shut down for the better part of the summer as crews took their time to make sure the renovations were up to par, Auerbach said.

The field hockey team was forced to play its home games at Drexel’s Buckley Field, and the lacrosse team has been practicing at the Edberg-Olson Hall Football Complex.

Christian Audesirk can be reached at christian.audesirk@temple.edu.

20/20 plan sets sights around campus

Last summer, there was talk of turning the Dirt Lot into a state-of-the-art science building, complete with dry labs. But as time went on, it became clear to university planners that perhaps the Dirt Lot in all its axel-breaking, car-blocking glory is here to stay, at least for a while.

“Temple does not own the lot,” said Ray Betzner, assistant vice president of university communications.
Multiple individuals own the lot, Betzner said, and as far as a new science building goes, the plans are in the “concept phase.”

Possible Dirt Lot renovation never made it to the Zoning Board. It is merely a part of Temple’s larger plan to improve its campus.

Temple 20/20 is a framework plan for campus development, which was approved by the Board of Trustees May 12.

The plan takes a holistic look at Temple’s property “footprint,” taking into account square footage of facilities, housing and academic buildings before deciding where improvement is needed next. This ensures the whole campus will be looked at, rather than small, spaced-out projects.

Because it can be implemented in rational phases as funding is available, the plan is flexible. This way if Temple would be offered a donation by a wealthy alumnus for a new library, Temple will not have to refuse the support because it has already committed funding to another project, e.g. the Dirt Lot.

Betzner said the Dirt Lot renovation was one of several ideas discussed during a June 17 City Planning Commission meeting. One of the ideas most likely to be seen soon is to have a student housing expansion, he said.

In accordance with the 20/20 plan, Temple wants to improve its most valuable piece of property, Broad Street. Improvements to Broad Street will likely include a new library, a signature building and more shopping and dining areas. Parking features will be expanded vertically with multi-level parking garages, instead of taking up valuable property space.

Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration Anthony Wagner said what the Temple community can expect to see this year are much-needed renovations to Pearson and McGonigle Halls and the razing of the University Services building, slated to begin this academic year.

Another sure renovation, which Boyer students in particular can to look forward to, is the transformation of the Baptist Temple into a 36,000 square-foot “theater-in-the-round-style” concert hall, which will be home to Temple’s orchestra and choir.

Pearson and McGonigle halls will be given facelifts and additions, adding one playing field, possibly a library and 82,000 square feet for recreation and dining.

The Board of Trustees has approved the design for Pearson and McGonigle and Temple is currently looking for an architect.

Kali Wyrosdic can be reached at kali.wyrosdic@temple.edu.

New Temple building approved for Dirt Lot site

Free non-street parking at Temple will likely become a thing of the past when construction of a new academic building proposed at a June 17 Philadelphia City Planning Commission meeting begins.

The new building — which will be four- to seven-stories high and feature classrooms, an auditorium and science labs — will be built on the northeast corner of 11th Street and Montgomery Avenue, where the Dirt Lot currently lies.

The Dirt Lot, which received a short-lived makeover over last winter break ["Dirt Lot gets temporary repairs," Kathryn. A. Lopez, Jan. 22, 2008], is vacant. Students often park their cars there because Temple does not consider it an official parking lot.

“We’re still in the early stages,” Vice President of Operations William Bergman said. “We’re looking at the conceptual idea [now]. We still need to talk to the provost and deans to find out what they’re thinking.”

Bergman said at this point, it will take at least 18 months to break ground for the new building, as Temple still needs to hire an architect. It will likely take about one year to design.

City planner Richard Redding presented the building proposition to the PCPC, which awarded conditional approval and recommended that Temple officials come up with a more urban plan that relates better to city streets and sidewalks.

Previously, the building design featured new open space in front of the building and a parking lot in the rear. The PCPC said these features prevent the building from being as dense and urban as possible.

According to a fact sheet compiled by the PCPC, the cost of the development would be roughly $74 million. In February 2007, the PCPC approved 66 acquisitions on the property by the university, giving Temple rights to build there.

A meeting for further negotiations between PCPC staff and Temple officials is set for July 7, 2008.

Morgan Zalot can be reached at morgan.zalot@temple.edu.