The Memorial Union is getting a facelift.

There are many renovations and additions to the Union, including approximately

30,000 square feet of new space and renovations to many of the existing spaces. The building has had a new front entrance added with additional space, called the south addition.

“The renovated existing space includes the Great Hall, South Ballroom, the Oak Room kitchen. . It includes a new corridor. The corridor . will allow people coming from the parking ramp to an event in the ballrooms and it will allow [people] to enter the east side of the building,” said Richard Reynolds, director of the Memorial Union. “The primary entrance . has generally been from the north or the west side, so if you parked in the parking ramp, you had to walk almost all the way through the building.”

The goals of the renovation, drafted in 2003, were to improve existing circulation routes, provide a new accessible south entry to the Union, provide improved access to the parking garage, update selected meeting spaces, provide a strong ISU presence in the building, update and expand University Book Store spaces and provide mechanical and electrical updates as well as life-safety upgrades, Reynolds said.

The corridor was part of the plan to help patrons find their way around the building.

“Wayfinding is the hardest thing in this building. It is like a hospital,” Reynolds said.

Some renovations were done to help create the corridor. The Oak Room lost about 10 feet of space on the east side. An area Reynolds termed “the glass box” – a hallway with large windows built onto the original side of the building – will also be removed. The original side of the building will be restored and become the outside wall again.

The Union’s main desk also will be moved.

“It will be visible from the west entrance of the building and it will be visible coming along these corridors,” Reynolds said.

There will also be a new women’s restroom and family restroom added. A new service room will be built and a new air handling system installed. Additional new space currently being used for bookstore storage might eventually become a retail space for a new business.

The MU Caf‚ and Onion’s C-Store will also be combined and relocated elsewhere in the building.

The University Book Store expanded its space on the first floor and is turning what was formerly the art department into a shipping and receiving area.

The floors in the Sun Room, Great Hall and South Ballroom are being sanded down to the same level and are having their sound systems updated.

The Great Hall already has paint on the walls in shades of yellow and red to represent ISU cardinal and gold for an increased presence of the university in the Union.

“You will see very intentionally throughout the building there is a lot of yellow and a lot of red,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds said the Union is being made easier to access for people with mobility issues, and more sprinkler systems have been installed to increase safety measures.

“The building is safe – I want to point that out,” Reynolds said. “Everything in the building worked, but most of the mechanical systems were really at the end of their life expectancy.”

The renovations were funded from several sources.

“The bookstore is paying for the renovation out of its revenues,” Reynolds said.

“The Memorial Union renovation is being covered by the student fee, and we also received a private gift to restore the Great Hall. Iowa State University Office of Telecommunications provided almost a half-a-million dollars to upgrade all the voice and data lines in the building.”

The student fee is $24.55 per semester, per student, which is charged to students’ U-Bills. This fee was determined by the Government of Student Body and went into effect in 2005.

“As I understand it, GSB assumed the initiative to basically provide funding for the renovation for the Memorial Union,” Reynolds said.

Alexander Olson, president of the Memorial Union board of directors, was working with the GSB when they voted to fund the project. He said there were no votes against the funding proposition.

“If you look at the history of the Memorial Union, it started with students. Students actually funded it, and it has always been the students’ union,” Olson said.

The class of 2007 also donated its class gift to the Great Hall project. The Memorial Union Copy Center paid for the creation of another room for itself from its revenues.

“I think that when all is said and done, and when all the dust settles, literally, it will be something we will all be proud of,” Reynolds said.

Olson said although the Union is becoming much better than it used to be, there are still places for more renovations, such as the meeting rooms that are often used by students, as well as the guest rooms.

“Do I see that happening in the next year? No. At the end of the day, all this takes money, and it tends to take a lot of money.” Olson said. “I am confident in the future, and I trust that the students will continue to invest in their student union.”

Reynolds said most of the renovations should be done next year.

“We anticipate a substantial completion in early spring,” he said. “Probably the first part of February.”