UO examined East Campus site concerns

The design of the proposed East Campus Children's Center has inspired some debate and a few challenges for University planners.

The University hopes to solve one of the main difficulties with the site by planning to build the center around a large water oak tree that the planners want to preserve, Director of Student Activities Gregg Lobisser said.

Five of the current seven Child Care and Development Centers would move to the new location. The proposed ECCC would be located in the Fairmount Neighborhood at East 17th Avenue and Moss Street if the University obtains approval from the city for its conditional use permit at the Aug. 21 continuation of the July 24 public hearing.

The approval is in question because of concerns with certain aspects of the current design.

"It seems like it'll be really difficult to keep that tree alive, and if it dies, the whole design fails," Fairmount Neighborhood Association member and former president Jeff Osanka said. "How can they guarantee that they can preserve that tree?"

However, Lobisser said that CCDC employees are excited about the move to a new facility and support the design.

"They're ecstatic," he said. "They've been in what has been designated a temporary space for 30 years.

"Finally, they'll have a physical environment that matches the quality of the learning environment."

In order to get approval, the building has to meet certain criteria and building standards.

The Fairmount neighborhood is a medium-density area, so the University's plans for the building must blend in with the overall small-building size.

The proposed center is a design concept that is intended to be residential, EMU Child Care Coordinator Dennis Reynolds said.

Some contend that the current plans for the building would not allow the structure to blend in successfully with the neighborhood when it is built.

"I think it's institutional, and it doesn't fit the character (of the neighborhood) very well," Osanka said.

However, others say that the building does blend in. Those in support of the current proposed design for the site say that, because it is a one-story structure, it doesn't compete with the surrounding buildings, Lobisser said.

The ECCC will consist of classrooms, administrative offices, conference rooms and a kitchen, Lobisser said.

Lobisser added that the proposed building will be energy efficient because of the solar heating, ground source heat pump (which pulls energy from the earth) and dense walls.

The University has also determined specific materials that will be used for construction.

"We're trying to make this building as sustainable as possible by using natural and sustaining materials wherever possible," Lobisser said.

Supporters say the materials that will be used for the building help it blend in with the neighborhood as well as with the University.

"It has brick trim that reflects the brick campus," Reynolds said. "A very similar building is the fire station, which is located on the corner of 17th and Agate, which is just two blocks from where our site is.

"It feels a lot like a small school building -- because that's what it is," he said. "A school is considered compatible with most neighborhoods."

Those who are opposed to the structure say that it is not the type of building that is under debate, but how it will be constructed in comparison to the other housing.

"Schools are allowed in residential neighborhoods, as are churches, but (the schools) have to be harmonious," Fairmount Neighborhood Association member Mary Ann Holser said.

"This is a historic neighborhood with a lot of character," Holser said. "(The proposed ECCC) doesn't have to fit in exactly, just not stick out like a sore thumb."

The center must also be up to University standards, and supporters say the University's standards are fairly high.

The University's current rules for construction state that any new building must exceed in quality the required building code specifications by 20 percent, so new construction must be above average, Reynolds said.

The building's structure and appearance are being analyzed according to many different standards, and by various individuals and groups.

"The reality in terms of aesthetics is, it's a judgment call," Reynolds said.

Contact the reporter at jilliandaley@dailyemerald.com.

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