Pammel Court will take on a whole new look with two new buildings scheduled to be constructed later this month.

Lynn Seiler, associate director of Iowa State Facilities Planning, said the university’s plan is to remove all of the housing units in Pammel Court by the year 2000 or before. A two-phase plan is in the works to make that possible.

The first phase involves the construction of a single-level library storage building to be built south of Daley Drive. Seiler said the building will hold library books that are not in high demand at the library.

“It will make room in the existing library,” Seiler said. “The alternative is to continue to lose study space in the library.”

The second building to be constructed in Pammel Court will be a two-level administrative service facility located north of the Pammel Court grocery store. The building will house business offices, administrative data processing, extension communications and purchasing.

Seiler said the library storage building is scheduled to be completed in late spring and the administrative service facility will be completed by late summer. Don Whalen, coordinator of Residence Life, said, “We’re in the process of vacating some of the apartments.”

Whalen said people who are living in Pammel Court will be given priority for relocating to another part of the University Student Apartment Community (USAC). The remaining university housing units are Hawthorne Court, University Village, and Schilletter Village.

There are about 50 apartments remaining in the Pammel Court area. “We’re going to be clearing buildings out on the far-east side of west Pammel Court.

“We are doing a little bit more of relocating sooner rather than later,” Whalen said. “We save money by beginning construction, too.”

Whalen said the grocery store, child care facilities and laundry facilities will remain in the area until plans are made to move.

“There is a plan to have all of those services housed in one building,” Whalen said. The plan is mentioned in the Department of Residence 10-year plan which calls for a fairly large building to be constructed in east Pammel Court.

Ahmad Manci, owner of the Pammel grocery store, said he was told about the possibility of a new building that would house the grocery store by Carl Moen, the director of student apartments.

“I am very excited,” Manci said. “A lot of our customers are concerned. They ask us what will happen. I tell them that this is what the university told us earlier,” Manci said. “They’re happy as long as we are.”

Manci said he thinks the construction of the two new buildings in Pammel Court will increase the business of the grocery store.

Sonia Johnson, the university’s child care consultant, said USAC offers full-time day care, the Rainbow Preschool, and the comfort zone, which is a program to care for sick children.

Johnson said she feels confident the administration will recognize the need for child care because of the extensive waiting list of families wanting the service.

“The administration is aware that we need to replace the current facilities,” Johnson said. “We are in the early stage of trying to assess what needs to happen.”