The new Campus Administration Building at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts currently under construction is nearing the “in the dry” or “dry-in” stage.
The terms are used when the rough exterior, including the base roof, has been completed, allowing the construction crew to begin more interior work in dry conditions. Construction crews are expected to reach the “dry-in” stage of the Campus Administration Building (CAB) by the end of December.
Work began on the $5.25 million, 11,000-square-foot project in the spring of this year with crews clearing a site adjacent to the Student Center, the campus residential building. The project is expected to be completed in spring 2024.
“We are excited to complete the first phase of the physical transformation of the ASMSA campus in this milestone anniversary year,” said ASMSA Director Corey Alderdice. “To date, more than $35 million has been invested in campus facilities since 2010 to ensure our students, faculty, and staff have the appropriate spaces to live, learn and share the ASMSA experience with peers from across the state.”
The CAB will include offices for the director as well as the institutional advancement, finance, human resources, public affairs and admissions departments. Those departments are currently located in the Academic and Administration Building and the Creativity and Innovation Complex. Flexible meeting spaces are also on each floor.
Moving those departments to the new building will allow ASMSA to begin the process of vacating the Pine Street Wing of the former St. Joseph Hospital complex that was the original residential space for students when the school opened in 1993. Students as well as the cafeteria moved to the Student Center when it opened in 2012.
The Pine Street Wing of the building currently houses faculty offices as well as classroom spaces for the school’s arts program. These areas will move to the current Academic and Administration Building and the Creativity and Innovation Complex upon the CAB’s completion. The Facilities Department, which is housed in part of the Cedar Street Wing, will also be relocated. ASMSA will then begin the process of returning control of the hospital complex back to the City of Hot Springs for demolition of the building.“When employees return to campus in January, a campus committee will begin work on the new 2033 Facilities Plan,” Alderdice said. “This important document will guide the continuing evolution of both ASMSA’s campus as well as a vibrant downtown Hot Springs.”
Families, alumni and other ASMSA stakeholders will have the opportunity to provide feedback on the school’s needs as well as the plan.