The $33 million renewal project of the Rhatigan Student Center renewal project started one year ago, and the second phase is under way. Students can start enjoying some of the finished work today, and more from the first phase in one to two months.

Shocker Sports Grill and Lanes (the old recreation center), in the basement, is scheduled to be finished by mid-September. It will include a bowling alley, billiards, Lord’s and Lady’s Hair Salon and an arcade room, RSC Marketing Coordinator Megan Lamb said.

The bowling lanes will stay the same, but new furniture will be installed and the bowling rentals and kitchen have separate spaces for their different purposes.

At the peak of construction, more than 100 construction workers were contributing their time on the project, said Tom Dondlinger, President of Dondlinger & Sons Construction Co., Inc.

“(The biggest challenge is) we don’t have a lot of room around the project and our first priority is that the student body and faculty around the building are safe,” Dondlinger said.

Despite difficulties with space, the old Copperfield food court will open on time in August, hopefully before fall classes start Aug. 19. Students in the dining hall will be able to look down into Shocker Sports Grill and Lanes.

The second floor of the Rhatigan is also complete. Around the outside wall are 11 flexible meeting spaces. The middle of the floor looks down onto the dining hall. An opaque skylight arch allows natural light into the building.

With just 14 months remaining for the Rhatigan Renewal, attention will soon divert to the construction of a new dorm near Cessna Stadium.

Anyone interested in taking a tour of the RSC construction zone can visit the Rhatigan Renewal webpage for available dates and times. Tours are available through December.