Psych still likely to get space near church

Officials plan to move Fine Arts offices into the Asbury Church, despite the spring break fire. University administrators and Psychology Department members expressed confidence that the department will receive use of the northeast corner of 34th and Chestnut streets for construction of a new Psychology facility, despite a recent fire at the adjacent Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church. Because the proposed site is directly next to the church -- which was nearly destroyed in a fire March 9 --EExecutive Vice President John Fry said last week that development of the area has become "vastly more complicated." The University had been renovating the church for a new fine arts facility -- set to open in August 1997 as the Charles Addams Fine Arts Hall. Vice President for Facilities Management Art Gravina said the difficulty now lies not in selection of a location for building the new Psychology facility, but rather in how to develop the area. "I think they will get that spot," Gravina said. "We just don't know what they're going to build there yet." He explained that upcoming discussions will center on how to develop both locations -- which are directly across from Hill Field -- as "one site." "We're going to put both programs on the table and see how we can most cost-effectively do both of them," Gravina said. Approximately a week prior to the fire, administrators and members of the Psychology Department agreed on the proposed site, Psychology Professor John Sabini explained. "We came to agree that was the best spot for us," Sabini said. But he added that he recognizes new plans for use of the Asbury Church site "now affect us." "It's of course natural that they want to think about that in a way that will make a unified development of that space," Sabini said. University administrators and Psychology Department members will collaborate to determine the space needs of the new Psychology building. And final determination of a site will expedite identification of donors for the project, Gravina said. The Psychology Department's preliminary plans proposed an approximately $30-35 million facility, Department Chairperson Robert Seyfarth said last week. Plans for construction of the Psychology facility call for a six-story, 120,000 square foot building, to be completed approximately four years after construction begins. "We have a sense of what they need," Gravina said. "The question is how best to meet that need." He noted that he expects to select an architect by the end of March.