Arjona and Monteith opened in 1959 and originally had an intended lifespan of 25 years–meaning that in 2011 we are 27 years past due on replacement buildings.

Arjona and its counterpart have become increasingly decrepit and have recently been subject to more than one instance of damage to academic materials due to pipes bursting.

Originally, the planning group had an idea for a 180,000 square foot building in the spot where the newest building is being built. This idea was scrapped because of transportation issues this would have caused and an outcrop of rock found on the site.

Instead, they relegated some of this space to “Classroom Building,” the 70,000 square foot, $42 million structure that opened for business this semester.

The structure that is still being built, to be called “Social Sciences and Humanities Building,” will be roughly 130,000 square feet (a total of 200,000 square feet of new space between the two buildings).

The budget for this building is $53 million and it is scheduled to be completed by August 2012.