ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan Board of Regents today approved the schematic design for the new Academic Center to be built on the south athletic campus. The $12 million, 38,000-gross-square-foot academic learning center was designed by architects from Jickling Lyman Powell Assoc.

The center will provide academic study space for more than 700 U-M student-athletes as well as other U-M undergraduate and graduate students. It will be built adjacent to the Marie Hartwig Building on State Street and sited to preserve a specimen Elm tree. The schematic design, with steeply sloped roof profiles and the use of masonry with precast stone trim, will create an architectural transition between Hartwig and the two-story north façade of the Fielding Yost Arena.

“This is, and has been, the No. 1 facility priority for me and the athletic department,” said Bill Martin, director of intercollegiate athletics. “In my various meetings throughout the year with our student-athletes, they have said that this is an important facility to help them maintain their success in the classroom. The coaches and academic staff have expressed similar sentiments as well.”

The project will be funded privately from Athletic Department gifts, resources and investment proceeds. During the construction, the South State Street entrance drive to the athletic complex will be relocated, simplifying existing traffic conditions.

“An exciting part of the project will be redesigning the entry into the athletic campus,” Martin said. “The traffic flow within the athletic campus will be greatly improved at the completion of the center. The entry re-design also gives us a future opportunity to improve the entry and exit from Yost for our fans by creating a plaza area on the north side of the ice arena.“

The Academic Center, which will be three floors with the lower level partially below grade, will provide individual and group study areas, computer labs, meeting rooms designated for tutorial work, a large meeting room and assembly areas for group projects, as well as offices for instructional support staff.

The two-year construction schedule is expected to begin next summer.