Braeburn Golf Course will close Monday  in order for Wichita State’s Innovation Campus to start taking shape.

According to WSU Board of Trustees member Andy Schlapp, the closing of the golf course will not be much of a visual change at first.

“People still use it to walk,” Schlapp said. “People are welcome to use it as a park — there just won’t be golfers.”

Construction will not begin to affect the course until around March, Schlapp said.

He said part of the reason for the closure of the course in advance is to help relieve the partnering manager of the course from financial burdens during the winter months.

The WSU Athletic Department will still retain three holes and the driving range of the course for the women’s and men’s golf teams.

The course was purchased in 1967 by the WSU Board of Trustees for the purpose of campus expansion. Schlapp, who golfs himself, said the golfing regulars should look at the closure positively, as they were fortunate to have a golf course for more than 50 years.

“Any time you have a golf course you play and it goes away, you’ll have mixed feelings,” he said.

Demolition of Wheatshocker Apartments will be the first noticeable change on the agenda for Innovation Campus. Demolitions began this past week, and once they are completed, the path for construction of new buildings will be clear.

The beginning stages of construction for the Experimental Engineering building are due to start in early 2015, and Schlapp said by 2016, there should be two completed buildings, with a third underway.

The buildings planned are the Experimental Engineering building, a private partnership building and a mixed use area, which itself will include retail areas, apartments and a hotel.