Florida Atlantic University (FAU) parking lots 16 and 18 – located on the right side of West University Drive from the Glades Road entrance – are undergoing construction as of April 29 and scheduled to be completed by Aug. 16, says FAU marketing official Brittany Bixler.

The project costs FAU $2.5 million to fix the deteriorating condition of the lots caused by their age, according to Fady Iskarous, FAU’s interim assistant director of design and construction services. He said the project aims to provide more parking spaces in this heavily trafficked area near the Student Support Service building (SU-80) and the Student Union.

“The benefits [of] redoing the parking lots is that FAU will eliminate the need for ongoing maintenance to patch and repair the damaged lots,” Iskarous said. “Also, the additional parking spaces will be an added benefit to the FAU community.”

According to Iskarous, the project originally began in 2023. However, FAU officials postponed it to avoid interference with commencement ceremonies at the Carole and Barry Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium in the Student Union, directly north of lot 16.

On May 20, an on-site survey of five students by the University Press found that they experienced an inconvenience in finding parking due to lot closures. Students must now park in Garage One or lot 19 in front of the S.E. Wimberly Library and walk six minutes to SU-80, as Google Maps indicates.

Pete Gordon, an FAU alumnus who works in the university’s student affairs marketing department, reflects on the commute to his office in the Student Union with the parking detour, saying that “a little bit of extra walking won’t kill anyone.”

Raymond Adderly, student governor for FAU’s Boca Raton campus, believes the summer semester is the optimal time for this construction project. He explained that this is due to the reduced student population and less traffic for parking compared to the fall semester.

“As the [SU-80] building there is not frequently visited, nor is the Student Union as there are less and less students who are here [during the summer],” Adderly said.

Jason Steinfeld, a previous University Press staff writer, contributed to this report. 

Michael Cook is the News Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email cookm2021@fau.edu.