The sounds of bulldozers and cranes are beginning to sound like permanent fixtures on the TCU campus, the latest project being the building of a new Brite Divinity School building.
The building will be called the W. Oliver and Nell A. Harrison Building, and it is 24,000 square feet designed to create more space for Brite students and their faculty.
Dr. Newell Williams, President of the Brite Divinity School, said that there are currently 3 buildings that make up the Brite Divinity School. Because of the small amount of space, it is crammed and crowded, with no room to grow.
“Currently we have 4 classrooms with over 200 students, and we have 23 faculty in a building built for 6,” Williams said. “We just cannot grow, there is no space for anyone else in this building.”
The building is going up directly behind the Robert Carr Chapel and will feature a courtyard and 2 gardens. Austin Commercial, the same construction company renovating the stadium, said the project would take about a year.
Unfortunately, the construction of this new facility is right in the middle of one of the more popular parking lots on campus, right behind the Beasley Building.
One student said she thinks the Brite School should expand to accommodate for their students and faculty, but finds it frustrating that parking is even more limited than it already was on campus.
“I understand the religious department needs a new building, but I don’t think they need to put it where a parking lot is,” Andrea Arendsee, a junior fashion merchandising major, said.
Blaine Gabrisch, also a junior fashion merchandising major, agreed and said that she may as well walk to school from her off-campus house because she is taking just as much time to find a parking spot.
“I feel as though it’s a little ridiculous because I pay enough money that I should be able to park here, and they took away all these parking spots, ” Gabrisch said.
Williams said that while parking may be temporarily unavailable, the Brite Divinity School followed all rules and regulations regarding parking. The number of parking spots must remain or increase when constructing a new building.
