New campus landmark; construction to be completed in August
When students return to campus in August, there will be a new landmark sporting the Central Michigan University seal waiting to greet them.
Standing 21 feet high and 32 feet wide will be an archway across Broomfield Road at one of the campus' main walking routes, near Celani and Thorpe residence halls. The massive archway is under construction.
Associate Vice President of Facilities Managment Jonathan Webb said the location was a ”natural" spot for the archway because so many people cross Broomfield every day.
The gateway's metal arch will span 20 feet between two brick-and-limestone pillars, which will each be six feet wide at the base. The bottom edge of the arch will be 17 feet from the ground at its highest point, and the university seal and name will be emblazoned on two metal plaques on the sides of the pillars.
Webb said the total cost of the archway's construction is $200,000. Facilities Management plans to be done with construction in August.
This archway is part of the university's 2014 Campus Identity Plan to "enhance the functionality and character of campus," which was developed with input from more than 1,000 students, faculty, staff and community members.
New directional and building signs are part of the six-phase "wayfinding plan," which is essentially a plan to make CMU's campus easier to navigate and distinguish. The archway is part of phase two of the plan.
Phase One included new signs which have already been installed on campus, such as the Health Profession Medicine building's sign with a limestone base, and the marquees on Mission Street.
More than 30 new signs are being installed on campus over the summer as part of Phase Two in the wayfinding plan.
The average cost of a sign is about $10,000. Depending on the size of the sign, the cost varies from $4,000- $14,000. Webb said there is no estimate for how much the entire wayfinding project will cost the university, as it depends on what the university's leadership decides to do and when.
The rest of the plan will continue on over the next few years. Webb said it will "ebb and flow" based on the university's leadership. The future phases include installing new pedestrian signs and new signs for the parking lots.
Webb said the older signs on campus haven't been updated since the '70s, so the university wanted tp update to new signage that "follows the university's branding" and conveys a professional image.
"We're trying to invest in the future," Webb said. "(The wayfinding project) demonstrates that the university continues to look to the future and we're making sure that Central Michigan University looks as great as it is."
The installation of the new signs won't detour cars or pedestrians on campus, but the archway work will reroute walkers crossing Broomfield Road to marked crossings at South Washington Street, or near Saxe Hall.
