Groundbreaking Kicks Off Loker Student Union Expansion

The long-anticipated groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion and renovation of the Loker Student Union was held on Thursday, Dec. 2. Upon completion, the size of the Student Union will be almost doubled to 120,000 square feet. The expansion will upgrade the University Bookstore, dining and food services, student government offices and meeting spaces. Also, a new ballroom will be added that will seat 500 for banquets and 1,000 for lectures, and will host everything from lectures and conferences to weddings for the campus and community.

On Nov. 16, the CSU Board of Trustees removed the last hurdle to beginning construction when they approved the sale of $24 million in bonds to support the $34.3 million project. The contract will be finalized in the next few weeks and construction should begin just after the first of the year.

“I am very excited to see this very important project falling into place,” said Kim Clark, director of the Loker Student Union, Inc. “It has taken the incredible support of our students, and the dedication and donations from faculty and staff to move forward. I truly believe this facility will change the student experience at CSU Dominguez Hills.”

The Loker Student Union is located just north of the University Library at the hub of campus, with new construction to occur on what is currently known as the North Lawn, facing Victoria Street. The opening celebration of the new union is projected for Fall 2006.

Longtime CSUDH benefactor Katherine B. Loker lifted the first shovel-full of soil at the groundbreaking. Loker and her late husband, Donald, donated the naming gift for the existing student union, which opened in 1992. She continued their legacy with a $4-million gift for the current expansion and renovation project.

Joining Loker were CSUDH President James E. Lyons, Sr., Associated Students, Inc. President José Reyes, Student Union Board President José Solache, and former ASI President Daryl Evans, who served in 1985-86 during a time when students were attempting to complete the 20-year struggle to build the existing facility. Additionally, other donors to the new union, the Loker Student Union Board of Directors, and the CSUDH Foundation Board were in attendance.

The groundbreaking of the union was a particularly welcome event in view of the complications the project has faced in the course of its planning. First, a fire in September 2003, gutted the University Bookstore, forcing a move of the facility to a temporary location in the Small College Complex. That event was followed by a flood in May 2004, which affected the university’s food service areas. It caused additional delays and called for the need to reconsider the sequence and timing of renovation and new construction.

Construction of the new Loker Student Union will require the closure of the existing facility at the end of the academic term, Dec. 17. Plans are underway for the many offices currently located in the union to be relocated to available campus space by the beginning of the spring 2005 semester.