When the Iowa Board of Regents meets next week, officials from the ISU Alumni Association will ask it for permission to go ahead with a project they say has been 30 years in the making.

Plans for a new Alumni Center, a $9 million construction project, will be presented to the board for authorization at its Aug. 3 meeting.

The center, which would span 30,000 square feet according to current plans, would house a visitors’ lounge, a library, staff offices and meeting rooms.

The facility is also planned to include multipurpose office space for the Student Alumni Leadership Council, a student group that works with the organization.

Construction is planned to take place along Beach Avenue and Center Drive, near the Iowa State Center and C.Y. Stephens Auditorium.

The center will hopefully address the Alumni Association’s current location problems, officials said.

Due to the renovation of the Memorial Union, the office currently operates out of Fisher-Nickell Hall, an area that lacks the visibility and space needed for the organization.

“Having a new building would provide additional space for offices and for programs, and probably most importantly, it would provide visibility and an important place for alumni to come when they’re on campus to reconnect with the university and their fellow alumni and our staff,” said Kate Bruns, assistant director of electronic communications for the Alumni Association.

The $9 million price tag for the facility, Bruns said, would all be paid for from private donations to the project.

Iowa State will also ask the regents to approve spending for maintenance costs for Hilton Coliseum, including a better fire alarm system, wider walkways, reconfigured stairway systems, greater seating capacity, more concession space, meeting rooms, new elevators and a new sound system.

The cost is likely to be between $6 and $8 million, the money for which will come from bonds, operation revenues and support from the community.

The changes planned are among those recommended in a 1996 study by a Missouri architectural firm. Although some of the group’s recommendations have already been addressed, some were neglected due to deferred maintenance procedures.