By Jeff Samoray, OU Web Writer

Two groundbreakings, representing significant additions to Oakland University's campus, will highlight the sixth annual Founders' Day Wednesday, April 18.

The first groundbreaking ceremony is at 8:30 a.m. for the Student Housing Apartment Complex on the lawn between Meadow Brook Drive and Walton Boulevard, opposite the George T. Matthews Apartments. The groundbreaking for the Education and Human Services Building is at 3:30 p.m. on the Varner Hall south lawn. Both ceremonies are open to the public.

Capstone Development Corporation of Birmingham, Alabama, plan to begin construction of the student apartments in August. The six, three-story, Tudor-style buildings are scheduled to be completed in August 2002.

The apartments will hold up to 459 residents. Each of the 132 units will have single bedrooms for two to four residents with no more than two individuals per bathroom. A central clubhouse will have a manager's office, lounge, two fireplaces, a game room and a deck overlooking basketball and volleyball courts.

The total project cost of about $21 million is being financed by the issuance of general revenue bonds. Revenue generated by student rentals will cover the debt service.

Architectural renderings, floor plans and a description of the apartments are on display in the Oakland Center, next to the OC Reservations and Administration Office.

J.M. Olson Construction of St. Clair Shores began site contouring for the Education and Human Services Building on Monday, April 9. The four-story, 132,000 square-foot building is targeted for completion in August 2002.

The project cost, shared by the university and the State of Michigan, is about $31.5 million. About $7.9 million of the project will come from the issuance of general revenue bonds; the State Capital Outlay Program will pay the remaining $23.6 million.

Founders' Day commemorates the formation of Oakland University in 1957, when Alfred and Matilda Dodge Wilson donated $2 million and the 1,500-acre Meadow Brook estate to start a new college in Oakland County. The first classes, at what was then named Michigan State University Oakland, were held in 1959.