After more than a year of demolition and construction to the lot on Northeast Campus Parkway and the Ave, the University has decided to cease their proposed designs in the area.

The empty construction lot is being converted into a fenced-off lawn, although it was initially intended as an office building for UW Educational Outreach.

The Capital Projects Office, which manages the design and construction of University facilities, influenced the decision to stop the construction as a result of delays and increased costs.

“We halted the project because it was behind schedule, roughly six months,” said Richard Chapman, associate vice president of the Capital Projects Office.

UW Educational Outreach was located in leased space in the Olson Building until it was destroyed in a fire in December of 2002. It is now housed in multiple buildings, including the Roosevelt Commons, the King Building, Lewis Hall and Parrington Hall.

The planned Educational Outreach building would have consolidated the department.

Design plans for the proposed building began in late May 2004 and demolition began in March 2006. Demolition included removing the old UW Visitor Center building and parking garage. The contract date for the completion of the Educational Outreach building was June 2007.

The Capital Projects Office received a letter from the contractor indicating that there would be significant cost increases because of construction delays. After reviewing the schedule, the Capital Projects Office made the recommendation to various University organizations to cease construction for cost control.

The project was terminated in October 2006.

There is now a hole 20-feet deep filled with cement and plenty of rebar in the construction lot. Over the next couple of weeks, the lot will be fenced and filled with soil and quick seeding grass.

The design and construction teams Ledcor/Perkins + Will were responsible for the proposed 69,000 square foot building between the Commodore Duchess Apartments and the College Inn.

“We saw [the lot] as a great building site for the future and wanted to preserve it,” Chapman said.

Marilyn Cox, assistant vice president for Capital Planning, agreed.

“Any property close or on campus is desirable. … Being in the urban area, our boundaries are somewhat fixed,” she said.

The Capital Projects Office agreed a fenced lawn would be the most cost- and time-efficient decision. Turning the space into a parking lot or public park would require permits and updates to lighting and sidewalks for safety reasons.

Constructing a chain wire fence will make the lot a private residence and planting grass will make the empty lot look more attractive, Chapman said.

There are no plans for developing this site, though it is a desirable location the Capital Projects Office hopes to use in the future.

As for UW Educational Outreach, the program has found a new home.

“We’re just about to move into the new University [formerly Safeco] Tower as one of their anchor tenants,” said Alison Koop, public relations manager of UW Educational Outreach. “It’s a done deal.”

[Reach contributing writer Michelle Tanaka at development@thedaily.washington.edu.]