Architect Dale Fritz, of the firm Dale Fritz and Associates, addressed the Troy Rotary Club Tuesday afternoon and explained some of the designs for Troy State University's redesign of the quad.

Fritz said the new quad design would feature 9-foot high bronze statue of a Trojan at the center of "a massive spray fountain." The $1.6 million renovation will include 90 new trees and plaza entrances to Bibb Graves Hall and surrounding buildings.

According to Fritz, the new design will not be simply aesthetic, but involve the creation of a landscape that can be used by all students and a center for campus activity.

Fritz said students will

be able to gather and meet in the open spaces of the quad, but also be able to sit and study on several benches on the perimeter grassy area. In addition, students will be allowed to erect a temporary stage in front of Bibb Graves Hall for concerts or rallies.

Some members of the Rotary Club expressed concern for the parking spaces that will be eliminated and trees that would be removed under the new design, but Fritz assured the group that new spaces and new trees would be placed to compensate for the lost parking spaces.

Donors can contribute funds to the renovation project by buying engraved bricks, benches and the one remaining unsold sidewalk. In addition, for half a million dollars, the quad could bear the name of a generous donor.

Currently the quad is named after former Alabama governor David Bibb Graves.

According to information from the TSU National Alumni Association, the group hopes to begin ground-breaking on the project as soon as all the funds are collected, hopefully by April or May.