Construction has begun on a 132,000-square-foot event center and arena on the Alabama A&M University campus.
The new space will include a 6,000-person capacity arena, locker rooms, training rooms, a Hall of Fame and a kitchen.
“The center will provide the university with a much-needed facility where we can host major functions, such as commencements, convocations, our annual scholarship gala and athletic events,” said Andrew Hugine Jr., president of Alabama A&M. Previously, the university has been renting offsite facilities for these activities.
Student enrollment at Alabama A&M University has been steadily increasing over the last three years. The university had 6,172 students enrolled in fall 2019, as compared to 6,106 students enrolled in fall 2018.
Turner Construction Co.’s Huntsville office is serving as the construction management agent for AAMU on the project. Turner will be working with architectural firm Nola Van Peursem and engineering firms Moody Nolan, The EE Group Inc., Mims Engineering, Johnson and Associates, LBYD Inc. and Camacho, as well as landscape architectural firm Bostick Landscape Architects.
Moody Nolan will serve as the arena consultant. The EE Group Inc. will be responsible for the electrical engineering, while Mims Engineering will serve the mechanical, plumbing and fire protection needs. Johnson and Associates is the civil engineer on the project and LBYD is the structural engineer. Camacho will oversee the food service area.
This is Turner Construction’s fourth project with Alabama A&M University. “We have experienced a lot of success together and there is no doubt that this is going to be the best project yet. It is going to be an excellent facility for Alabama A&M University and the community,” said Tyce Hudson, project executive with Turner.
Turner Construction Co. opened in 1955 and has worked on a number of iconic buildings in North Alabama, including the Davidson Center for Space Exploration, the Von Braun Center, Huntsville Botanical Garden Welcome Center and facilities for ADTRAN, Davidson Technologies, Torch Technologies and others. The international construction firm, with multiple offices around the country and internationally, has approximately 10,000 employees and works on approximately 1,500 projects each year.
