UF’s Plaza of the Americas is getting a new look.
Starting today, The Brentwood Company, a Gainesville contractor, will begin a six-month-long project that will cost $2.2 million, UF spokesman Steve Orlando said. The construction will include adding wider sidewalks and extra seating, expanding on-campus Wi-Fi and adding new emergency blue phones with speakers.
The space’s tree canopies, which provide shade, will remain. The project will be done in two parts, beginning with the east half of the plaza, to allow students to still use part of the space.
A private donation of more than $1.3 million from UF alumni and donors Herb and Catherine Yardley will fund about half of the project, and UF is funding the rest, Orlando said. UF’s funding is coming from the office of UF Chief Operating Officer Charlie Lane.
The goal of the renovations is to give the space a new look for a modern university while staying one of UF’s green spaces that will remain open and undeveloped.
“It’s very exciting,” Orlando said. “So many people use it, and I think it will be great for students after the construction is complete.”
The construction is part of UF’s Strategic Development Plan, which aims to see the university grow and improve over the next 40 to 50 years, he said.
During the construction, Murphree Way, a service road east of the plaza, will be closed to traffic and converted to a paved road for pedestrians, he said. Only emergency vehicles will be allowed access.
The space was originally designed as a quadrangle in the 1920s, Orlando said. The courtyard, which is a common feature across university campuses, was officially named the Plaza of the Americas in the 1930s.
“The purpose of it was to be an open space where students could gather and read or use it as a free-speech zone,” he said. “The plaza is a very central part of the university’s history and a central part of campus life.”
Jefferson Packer, the vice president of the UF hammock club, said the club hangs hammocks and visits on the plaza about once a week, but he doesn’t think the construction will affect them too much.
The hammock club may consider meeting in front of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium or in the Broward Area while the plaza is under construction, the 22-year-old UF marketing and information systems junior said.
“There are better places to hang, but the plaza has great visibility to students,” Packer said.
A graphic shows the renovated Newell drive. The new space includes additional seating and tables for students.
Murphree Way, currently a service road, will be renovated and become closed to vehicle traffic.
An aerial view of the final, reconstructed Plaza of the Americas. Construction begins Monday and is expected to take about six months.
