Renovations on the Central Avenue parking lot started Thursday near the Carpenter Student Housing Complex-Community Building. Current renovations are part of the Central Avenue Project's first phase, which involves constructing a new drainage system beneath the lot.
The City of Memphis is building the new drainage system and will be working on the project for the next 60 days.
"The plan is to excavate and construct an underground container that rain will enter then slowly exit through," said Tony Poteet, campus planning and design assistant vice president.
The new drainage system is being installed to resolve frequent flooding in the lot and on other parts of campus. The City of Memphis recently built similar systems, including one for the Second Presbyterian Church on Poplar behind Carpenter Complex.
Once Memphis finishes their role in the project, Poteet and his team will then build another parking lot on top of the drainage system this summer. The project will later include the installation of a center median and bike lanes that will run on the north and south sides of Central.
