Alumni Skywalk Installed
Campaign for Abromson Community Education Center moves toward completion
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Great progress is being made on the construction of the Abromson Community Education Center on USM's Portland campus and on the campaign to raise $3.1 million in private gifts to help finance the project. As of mid-October the Community Education Center campaign, led by chairs Dick and Adele Aronson, had raised $2.6 million.
As part of this project, a 160-foot, enclosed glass skywalk was hoisted into place over Bedford Street in late October (see photo at right). The center and skywalk will open for use in March of 2005. The skywalk connects the Community Education Center and USM's new parking garage to a landscaped plaza between Luther Bonney and Masterton Halls on the opposite side of Bedford Street. Once open, the skywalk is expected to dramatically improve pedestrian safety and increase accessibility to the parking garage and the Abromson Center.
Bob Blackwood '78, '82, a long-time supporter of USM and senior vice president of Norway Savings Bank, is leading the effort to raise $500,000 from alumni in support of what will be known as the Alumni Skywalk. Alumni have enthusiastically supported this project, with more than 80 percent of the goal raised as of mid-October. The skywalk will become a prominent symbol of the connection between the University and the community, Blackwood noted.
The Community Education Center includes the Alumni Skywalk; the 500-seat Hannaford Lecture Hall; a 15,000-square-foot classroom building, and the new 1,200-car parking garage. The cost of the entire complex—approximately $25 million—will be paid through a combination of a 2001 state bond, campus fees, and private and federal funds.
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