Rendezvous on schedule for fall 2007 opening

Construction on Idaho State University’s multipurpose Rendezvous complex is proceeding on schedule for its fall semester 2007 opening.

When completed, Rendezvous will include 50 classrooms, 80 three- and four-bedroom apartment suites, a student union, cyber café and more. The total projected budget is $43,510,000.

Brennan Construction of Pocatello has overseen construction of Rendezvous’ 255,000 square feet, or 5.8 acres, of floor space since the June 2003 groundbreaking.     The building is situated across Martin Luther King Jr. Way from ISU’s Eli M. Oboler Library. Construction of classrooms, located on the building’s Martin Luther King Jr. Way side, will be finished in December. The student union and housing, on the Red Hill side, are scheduled for June completion.

However, Cheryl Hanson, project architect for ISU Physical Plant, says, “My observation is that they are ahead of schedule, although they aren’t saying that. Brennan Construction is doing a great job, an excellent contractor, very good to work with.”

While Rendezvous’ various rooms, large and small, get most of the public’s attention, the five-story atrium may be the building’s showpiece. Windows span the entire width of the east end and half the length of the west end so many plants can get sunlight.

“It’s been likened to an interior street with balconies overlooking a concrete walkway 50 feet in width lined by café tables,” says Hanson.

Some have said that Rendezvous is so big and so multipurpose, with classrooms, a dormitory and food service, that you can go in and never have to leave. Hanson says not so, and it’s a good thing.

“Rendezvous is a building for everybody, located in the center of campus across from the library, with many study areas off of the atrium,” she says. “Most campus academic buildings are oriented to one department. The rendezvous part of it is that people from different disciplines can meet, and you can run into people you wouldn’t otherwise meet on campus. It’s a place where you can meet and talk about collaborative projects.”

Some of Rendezvous will be completed in the future, when additional funding is obtained. Thirty-seven classrooms will be finished in December, the remaining 13 shelled out to await finishing touches. The Planetarium will be a 250-seat auditorium until a donor for its $2.1 million projection system can be found. Some landscaping will be finished later.