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DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Central University is getting ready to finish a proposal to build a new student union, mindful that the officials are putting proposals under more scrutiny to make sure student fees aren't unfairly increased.
The university is finalizing plans it will present to the Board of Governors for the University of North Carolina system, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Miron Billingsley told The Herald-Sun of Durham (http://bit.ly/1KAvo1j).
The university wants to finish the first phase of the three-phase $42 million project by fall 2018.
The current student union was built in the 1960s when the university had 2,500 students. N.C. Central now has more than 8,000 enrolled.
The first phase includes 98,000 square feet of buildings for the new student union. Later, the university wants to build a 1,750-seat auditorium with banquet space and a 300-space parking deck, Billingsley said.
"The timeline is very aggressive," Billingsley said.
But the university also has studied how the UNC Board of Governors has not liked other student union plans that officials thought relied heavily on student fees for buildings more extravagant than necessary.
There was criticism in 2014, when the board approved a $156 million student union at East Carolina University. That led North Carolina A&T University officials to downsize its student union plans to fit in a $90 million budget.
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Information from: The Herald-Sun, http://www.herald-sun.com
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