Mercer’s growth reflected in new building projects

While Mercer University President Bill Underwood recently listed all the construction projects the school is undertaking, he forgot to mention the most obvious one: the one on his own doorstep.

“I should remember that one,” he said of work being done in front of the president’s house on Adams Street. “The workers wake me up every morning at 6 a.m.”

If some of the work slips Underwood’s mind, it’s probably understandable. The university has six major construction projects in various stages over the next couple years, totalling about $150 million.

By 2017, Mercer will have added the fourth and fifth phases of its lofts buildings, which feature student housing above a commercial space; a new freshman dorm on the east side of campus; a major renovation of Claude Smith Field, its baseball stadium; a new, state-of-the-art science center in the heart of campus; and improvements to the streetscape near Adams Street, including renovations to Newton Hall.

Mercer has nearly completed adding parking to its Tattnall Square Center for the Performing Arts, a black box theater that’s home to the theater department built in the former Tattnall Square Presbyterian Church.

In addition, a new medical school building will be built on Mercer’s Savannah campus.

Underwood said the improvements are part of the university’s $400 million capital campaign. Most of the money is coming from donations and private investments.

“Construction is going to touch every side of campus,” he said.

Much of the construction is tied to Mercer’s growth over the past few years, Underwood said.

Four years ago, Mercer’s freshman enrollment was 565; this fall, the university is anticipating 850 freshmen on the Macon campus. Despite the increased attendance numbers, Mercer has actually become more selective in its admissions process.

Underwood said the average SAT score among incoming freshmen is 1,220 in the math and verbal sections, with a 3.85 average GPA.

There are many reasons why Mercer has become such a hot college to attend, he said. He attributes some of it to the various programs and changes made by the College Hill Corridor Commission, which helped lay the foundation for fixtures such as Mercer Village.

“Some of it is the new programs we are offering, such as the Center for Collaborative Journalism and our tremendous strength in science and medicine,” Underwood said.

FRESHMAN DORM

The new dorm, which will house 300 students and is located near the current freshmen dorms on the east side of campus, will cost about $25 million.

The building will open in the fall of 2016 and will be located near the corner of Ash Street and Edgewood Avenue.

Mercer requires its freshmen, sophomores and juniors to live on campus, unless students in those classes are from the midstate area and are living at home.

However, thanks to the growth of Mercer Village -- a collection of businesses, mostly restaurants, that occupy a previously blighted section of Macon -- and campus activities such as sports, many midstate students are choosing to live on campus.

“I think as Macon has been progressing, it makes Mercer more attractive,” Underwood said. “Sports has also raised the profile of the university.”

MORE LOFTS

As with the previous loft development projects, the two new loft properties under construction will be mixed-use, with the ground floor set aside for commercial businesses and the upper floors serving as living space for Mercer students.

Phase IV, known formally as the Lofts at College Hill, should be finished by the time the fall semester begins in August. The more than $20 million development consists of two buildings located off Hardeman and Georgia avenues and is situated behind the post office on College Street.

Jim Daws, president of Sierra Development Group, which has built the loft projects, said Phase IV will house nearly 150 students in one- and two-bedroom furnished living spaces that include such amenities as a washer/dryer unit, a cable box and Wi-Fi access. The development also contains an exercise room, a yoga room, a game room/lounge and barbecue pits.

Two of the eateries that will be located within the development, The Brick and Boba Mocha, should be ready to open by mid-August.

Frank Pendergast, who owns The Brick, said he was attracted to the property in part because of Mercer’s involvement.

“When this particular space became available, it offered the best of everything,” he said. “It’s close in proximity to downtown, but it’s still located in a neighborhood. We want people to be able to walk to us. ... We hope to have nice tenants above us who will enjoy dining with us.”

Ken Ong, a partner with Boba Mocha, said he found the lofts project to be a unique concept.

“It’s almost like a city campus, even though it’s not the campus per se,” he said.

The Brick will offer Italian cuisine while Boba Mocha will feature a combination of concepts, offering coffee, tea and smoothies as well as Asian-style meals.

Daws said the remaining commercial space hasn’t yet been rented.

Phase V, known as the Lofts at Mercer Stadium, will be even more grand, Daws said, coming in at about $50 million. Set to open July 1, 2016, it will be located on Mercer University Drive, facing the campus’ south entrance.

Underwood said the development will serve more than 300 students and have its own parking structure. Plans for this phase include a pedestrian bridge that will cross over Mercer University Drive connecting campus and the lofts.

Underwood said Mercer officials also are looking at the possibility of a roundabout on Mercer University Drive in front of the campus’ south entrance.

Daws said the neatest part about Phase V is the fact that there will be a rooftop eatery that will allow Mercer fans to watch a football or baseball game from that location.

“It’ll be like Wrigley Field,” said Daws, alluding to the fans of the Chicago Cubs who can watch their team play from rooftops across the street from the stadium. “You’ll be able to see about 95 percent of the football field.”

Underwood said the timing of Phase V will work well with a private-investment hotel and restaurants that are being built at the corner of Mercer University Drive and the Interstate 75 off-ramp, as well as the expansion of Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert’s Second Street Corridor plan to connect interstates 75 and 16 through downtown Macon.

“This is going to be a major gateway into Macon,” Underwood said. “It’s a signal that Macon is progressively growing. It’s going to be an eye-opener for people coming here for the first time.”

SCIENCE CENTER

When the $40 million new science building is completed in 2017, it will be the largest building in the campus’ history at about 100,000 square feet, Underwood said.

Currently, its location includes the Patterson Building on campus and greenspace. The plan is to knock down the existing building and build the science building around the greenspace to give it its own courtyard. The quadrangle will be named for Mercer alumnus and trustee A.V. Elliott, who provided a significant gift for the project.

Once finished, the chemistry, biology, neuroscience and biochemistry/molecular biology departments will be housed there. The building will contain 32 faculty-student research labs, 28 teaching labs, classrooms and offices.

Underwood said he hopes to begin construction either later this year or early next year, adding that it should take about 18 months to complete.

Underwood said the current Willet Science Building will continue to be used after the new building is completed and will likely be the home for the psychology and computer science departments.

BASEBALL STADIUM AND CAMPUS IMPROVEMENTS

The remaining projects are a $3 million facelift to Claude Smith Field and $4 million in renovations to historic Newton Hall as well as the greenspaces and walking paths around it.

Underwood said he hopes much of the stadium work can be done by next year. The baseball team will still be able to play games there even if the work isn’t complete. The improvements include adding more seating, a new press box and new concession stands.

Once the work is completed at Newton Hall, it will serve as the new home for the Human Resources Department.

The aesthetic changes being made to that part of the campus go well with the all of the changes in Tattnall Square Park, which is getting a new central fountain, Underwood said. Macon-Bibb workers began that project last week.

Underwood said he’s seen what similar development has done for other Southern cities such as Savannah and Greenville, South Carolina, and thinks Macon is poised to take similar strides as a premier city.

“We’re on the front edge of the same type of renaissance,” he said. “It’s an exciting time to be here in this community.”

This story was originally published June 20, 2015 at 9:28 PM with the headline "Mercer’s growth reflected in new building projects ."