The UB Post

Media Credit: Meredith Barr The large spiral staircase features original stained­-glass windows, which will be fully restored.

SunTrust has moved out, new windows are replacing plywood and the amount of construction equipment around the building has diminished. Renovations to 1300 N. Charles St. are nearing completion and the University of Baltimore community has been taking notice.

Renovations have been in progress since December 2006 on the former Crestar Building, which now is known simply as 1300 N. Charles—at the corner of North Charles and Preston streets. Once the building is finished, the anticipated occupants will include the School of Communications Design (SCD) on the first through third floors, and the fourth and fifth floors will be occupied by the Schaefer Center for Public Policy.

According to Steve Kitchen, associate vice president of facilities management in Auxiliary Enterprises, the project budget is approximately $15.5 million—up from the $10 million price in 2006—and includes furnishings and equipment. Recently, the state upped the allocation for information technology equipment in the building from $750K in 2006 to the current $1 million.

The large budget includes the initial purchase of the building for $1.9 million and the costs of preserving historical elements of the building, as required by local historical societies.

There have been several complications that have increased the budget, including the need to work around existing support beams, extensive flooring repairs and restoring other deteriorated elements of the 81-year-old Knights of Pythias building.

The main entrance is on Preston Street, and there is a canopied walkway to an entrance in the alley, which is where the university anticipates the most traffic.

Some features of the renovation include original floors made of terrazzo (faux marble), steel beams on the fifth floor that will remain exposed, glass and "unusual angles" that have been added to walls, balconies with balustrades, and two added skylights to complement a pre-existing skylight, according to Kitchen.

The incoming residents are pleased with the change of location.

"The classrooms are individually designed to meet the needs of the different types of classes we offer," said Julie Simon, associate professor in and director of corporate communication. "We'll have a screening room for film, seminar classrooms for creative writing, large lab spaces for design, and a studio for video production."

"We'll finally have a place where School of Communications Design students, faculty and staff can all learn, work and study in the same facility," said Dave Patschke, director of technology in the SCD.

Justin Codd, English major, said students will benefit from the screening room, more round tables in the classrooms, and a gallery for student work.

"The main [benefit] is more student-friendly instruction space," said Jonathan Shorr, Ph.D., professor in and director of the School of Communications Design. "We'll also have dedicated space for the various publications that are produced within and by the faculty."

The tentative move-in date was late March, but the date has been bumped to early August.

"I am very excited about the prospect of the SCD moving into the new building," said Ed Gold, professor in and co-director of the SCD. "For one thing, our space has tripled, which we've badly needed for a long time."

Gold is also director of UB's Ampersand Institute for Words and Images and director of the MFA in integrated design.

"I'm excited," said Jonathan Braucher, assistant director of technology in the SCD. "I'm sure I'll miss things about the Charles Royal, but we need to move on."

The students and faculty who have called Charles Royal home for many years have dealt with the disadvantages of that building for long enough.

"[It] is quaint and quirky," Patschke said. "But we've long since outgrown the available square footage, and there are other disadvantages that are less than fun, such as finicky heating and cooling."

"[We'll have] better facilities, more space, a building that doesn't shake too much," said Simone Christian, publications design student. "I can't wait for a change of scenery."

"I'll be sad to leave the Charles Royal building," said Virginia Carruthers, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the English program. "But it will be wonderful to have classrooms specifically designed for the types of courses we teach."

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mandy.wrobel@ubalt.edu

Nedra Cruz, editor in chief and publications design student, contributed to this article.

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