Two building projects are scheduled to officially open in the fall, despite repeatedly pushed back completion dates.
Skirkanich Hall, a new bioengineering facility, is scheduled to open mid-June, nearly two months later than the originally intended April completion date.
The delayed opening is due to an underestimation of the time needed to finish the details of the building, administrators said.
"It often comes to a choice between having something done faster or better," Dean of Engineering Eduardo Glandt said. "Needless to say, we want things done better."
Project Manager for Skirkanich Hall Kim Dengler said that the delay was the result of a conflict between the intended design of the building and what was being constructed.
She added that because of noise created by the construction, the adjacent Moore building was outfitted with noise-reducing padding.
Skirkanich Hall, when finished, will be located on 33rd Street between Walnut and Spruce streets. The building will have state-of-the-art classrooms, as well as office and wet lab space, according to Director of External Relations for Facilities and Real Estate Services Tony Sorrentino.
Glandt said that he has already received positive feedback from bioengineering faculty members who have toured the nearly completed facility.
Although the new building will address many of the needs of the bioengineering program, Glandt acknowledged that ever-changing technology will require more construction for the area in the near future.
One such future project Glandt foresees is a new nanotechnology building that will serve five of the six engineering programs, including bioengineering.
Construction on the $42.2 million project began in the summer of 2005, following a $10 million gift from Peter Skirkanich -- an Engineering overseer and University trustee -- and his wife Geri.
Construction is also underway and scheduled for completion this fall on The Hub, a mixed-use building on 40th Street and Chestnut Street.
The building will be 10 stories and will feature apartments and retail shops, though Sorrentino said that the shops have not been announced yet except for Power Yoga Works, which will move from the 3900 block of Walnut Street to The Hub.
The $23 million project is part of the University's attempt to provide more graduate and undergraduate housing options to a housing system unable to accommodate all the students who request University living.
College junior Laura Paine, who currently lives in the Hamilton Court apartment building at 39th and Chestnut streets, said that she would "definitely consider [living in The Hub] if they were comparable in price" because she often visits the area.
"I definitely go into that area because I eat at Pattaya Grill a lot," Paine said. "I also go into the area because I walk to the SEPTA station at 40th and Market Street."
