In June 2008, thousands of people—including University of Iowa President Sally Mason—filled sandbags in efforts to hold back rising floodwater from overtaking the Iowa Memorial Union (IMU) and 19 other buildings on campus.

Seven years later, many of those same people came together to celebrate another milestone in the campus’ flood recovery efforts—the reopening of the ground floor of the IMU. On June 3, 2015, university, federal, state, and local officials helped the campus community commemorate the 83,000-square-foot space, now open to the public, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by self-guided tours and a reception.

“The IMU ground floor has been a focus point for all that important student energy for decades,” said President Sally Mason. “I couldn’t be more pleased that we’ve now restored this very important hub for our students, and I join everyone today in thanking all those that have made today possible.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency “flood mitigation and recovery project” restored the ground floor of the IMU to the same function and design as it was in June 2008. The project also focused on flood mitigation efforts to raise the area next to the river two feet above the 500-year flood level.

The space includes a Learning Commons, Union Station Food Court, the Iowa Hawk Shop, the Hawkeye Room student lounge and performance venue, a bank, and additional lounge and study areas.

“We have more students today than when this place flooded and many more on the way,” said Tom Rocklin, vice president for student life. “We’re able to grow and offer the wonderful, deep educational experiences we have here to more students from Iowa and around the world. But we need more than classrooms and residence halls to support the success of these students. We need the kind of space that we have in this building, especially on the ground floor.”

More to come on campus

The reopening of the IMU ground floor is another milestone in the UI’s efforts to recover from the flood of June 2008.

The natural disaster affected more than 2.5 million square feet of building space (the equivalent of one-sixth of the UI campus), forced the evacuation and closing of 20 buildings, and resulted in $743 million in damage and recovery costs.

Currently, there are only three major construction projects affiliated with recovery efforts left to complete. The Art Building replacement, Voxman Music Building, and Hancher Auditorium replacement are all set to open in 2016.