Construction of four buildings and a new sports complex is underway with a timeline for completion in early 2012.

“These exciting campus developments are made possible by two bond issues totaling $62 million recommended by the UALR Board of Visitors and approved last fall by the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees,” said Robert Adams, vice chancellor of finance and administration.

The first two projects will be an addition to student housing and a nanotechnology research center, followed by a student services one-stop center, an outdoor track and field complex, and then the renovation of a building to provide space for the growing programs in nursing and health sciences.

A new one-stop center where students can enroll, register, establish financial aid, pay tuition, and other tasks before they start classes will be located just north of the Donaghey Student Center, with a pedestrian walkway from the upper level of Donaghey to the new building.

Once the new building is ready, Administration South will be vacated and work will begin to convert that building into a center for nursing and health sciences.

Adams said the first building to break ground likely will be the honors residence hall, scheduled to be ready for students to move in prior to the start of classes in fall 2011. It will be the fourth residence hall at UALR and designed to be a part of the residence village bordering on Fair Park Avenue. The new building will provide housing for approximately 370.

A fifth project, an athletic complex for track and field competition as well as intramural softball and soccer is being sited on the south side of Asher Avenue on the site of the former Coleman Dairy.