SOURCE: JLL, University of North Georgia
New Multipurpose Facility to Support University Events, Academics, and Athletics
DAHLONEGA, Georgia, May 21, 2018 – The University of North Georgia (UNG) will be commemorating the completion and opening of their new 103,000-square-foot Convocation Center in Dahlonega, Georgia on May 23. The Convocation Center serves as the university’s primary event center hosting a variety of events including commencements, athletic events, military drills and assemblies, concerts and community events.
"We are really excited about the new Convocation Center, as it has already become a transformational facility for UNG in the quality and size of events we have been able to host," said Mac McConnell, UNG's senior vice president for Business and Finance.
The new facility is located in the southwest zone of UNG’s Dahlonega Campus near Morrison Moore Parkway.
The $37.4 million Convocation Center was designed to be highly efficient and flexible to accommodate a growing student population and a variety of university needs. The arena bowl hosts 4,000 occupants for graduation events, and meets NCAA Division I standards with 3,600 seats for athletic events, including 1,900 fixed and 1,350 retractable seats and telescopic bleachers for 350 spectators with the ability to retract for a two-court setup. The concourse level, where the facility entry is located, surrounds and overlooks the event floor providing uninterrupted views of the activities taking place below as well as pristine vistas of the historic UNG campus nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
The Convocation Center also houses generously-sized classrooms and labs spread throughout the building and will be home to UNG’s kinesiology department. An athletic training lab and a human performance lab feature bikes, a hydrostatic tank and other specialty equipment to provide students a hands-on learning environment in physical training. A TEAL (Teaching Enhanced Active Learning) classroom provides extensive technology for student collaboration and sharing of ideas.
In addition to supporting a wide range of the university’s academic, community and athletic needs, this new facility is critical to UNG’s role as one of only six Senior Military Colleges in the United States. UNG’s nearly 800-member Corps of Cadets and more than 150 active students in the Georgia Army National Guard detachment on the Dahlonega Campus needed expanded military training and assembly space, which the Convocation Center now provides. On the exterior, landscaped entry and student plazas and walkways connect the facility to the existing UNG Alumni House, located nearby, and a newly constructed 500-space companion parking deck.
The Convocation Center project was managed by JLL, designed by Lord Aeck Sargent in collaboration with Rossetti and built by Juneau Construction Company.
About University of North Georgia
The University of North Georgia (UNG) is part of the University System of Georgia and is designated as a State Leadership Institution and The Military College of Georgia. With an enrollment approaching 20,000 students, UNG is one of the state's largest public universities. The University offers more than 100 programs of study ranging from certificate and associate degrees to professional doctoral programs. Positioned in the fastest-growing region of the state, UNG comprises five campuses united by a single mission focused on academic excellence with academic and co-curricular programs that develop students into leaders for a diverse and global society. UNG was formed through the consolidation of North Georgia College & State University and Gainesville State College, two of the top-performing schools in the University System of Georgia, in January 2013.
About JLL
JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. A Fortune 500 company, JLL helps real estate owners, occupiers and investors achieve their business ambitions. In 2017, JLL had revenue of $7.9 billion and fee revenue of $6.7 billion; managed 4.6 billion square feet, or 423 million square meters; and completed investment sales, acquisitions and finance transactions of approximately $170 billion. At the end of 2017, JLL had nearly 300 corporate offices, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of 82,000. As of December 31, 2017, LaSalle had $58.1 billion of real estate assets under management. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit www.jll.com.
About Lord Aeck Sargent
Lord Aeck Sargent is an award-winning architectural and urban planning firm serving clients in academic, historic preservation, science and technology, interiors, arts and cultural, multi-family housing and mixed-use, and urban design and planning markets. The firm’s experts in these practice areas, who have deep regional and national experience and relationships, collaborate across six offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Atlanta, Georgia; Austin, Texas; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Lexington, Kentucky; and Washington, D.C. The firm has received American Institute of Architects’ National Honor Award and has been in Engineering News-Record Magazine’s Top 500 Design Firms list 10 times. Lord Aeck Sargent is No. 88 on ENR’s Top 100 Green Design Firms list, and has been named a Top Green Design firm by multiple publications 16 times. For more information, visit the firm at www.lordaecksargent.com.
About Juneau Construction Company
Juneau Construction Company, headquartered in Atlanta with an office in Miami, is one of the fastest-growing construction firms in the Southeast. Juneau was founded by husband and wife team, Les and Nancy Juneau in 1997. Juneau performs as Construction Managers, Design-Builders and General Contractors on both public and private project types across the Southeast. Juneau’s core markets include Higher Education Auxiliary Facilities (Housing, Dining, Student Centers, Parking Decks), Higher Education Academic and Athletic Facilities, High-Density Multi-Family Residential & Mixed-Use, Senior Living, Hospitality, and Historic Restoration.
For the last several years, Juneau has appeared among Top Atlanta and South Florida Contractors, ENR Top 400 Contractors, and the #1 ranked woman-owned construction firm in Georgia. Juneau is also among BD+C’s and ENR SE’s Top University and Multi-Family Sector Contractors in the nation. In 21 years, Juneau’s revenues have grown to over $225 million annually and our professional staff exceeds 150. Our mission is simple, yet profound: we strive to be best in class, while promoting family, teamwork and a dedication to construction excellence.
