Jesse Owens North recreation center could be in danger of being replaced with a 1500-space parking garage, as well as a financial aid, admissions and student academic services building.

According to the Director of Transportation and Parking Services, Sarah Blouch, the parking garage is slated to be built somewhere in the vicinity between Lane Avenue, Neil Avenue and Tuttle Park. Studies have show that it cannot fit without removing the Jesse Owens North facility, but there are no definite plans for its removal.

University associate architect, Bernie Costantino, said the question of whether or not the JON will be torn down cannot be answered until an architect has been selected, and a planning study has been started to determine the best location – a process that will take another two to three weeks.“It’s not in great shape, but we will try to maintain it for the time being,” he said. “The issue is we don’t want to compromise design-ship, and we want to be able to plan opportunities for the long term. If it doesn’t happen (that JON has to be torn down), we’d include a recreation facility in the new academic building. The first goal is to not attack the building.”

Bruce Maurer, assistant director for the Adventure Recreation Center, said closing JON would create an undue hardship on the Recreation and Physical Activity Center and the ARC to be able to provide services as they have done in the past. For instance, the drop-in basketball courts would not be as easily accessible as they currently are.

The monthly average of visitation at RPAC is 144,000, for the ARC is 33,000 and for JON is 20,000, Maurer said.

“Also, with JON currently having asphalt floors, there’s certain things you can do there that you can’t do in RPAC or ARC,” he said. “We want to do a ‘Big Wheels’ philanthropy event in April, and JON allows us to do that. We did a “Beat Michigan” breakfast there. It’s uniqueness lends to do something like that.”

The projected cost of building the parking garage alone is $28 million, and the projected cost of the new student academic services building is another $33 million.

Carlo Repuyan, a junior in human nutrition and Matthew Nickley, a senior and double major in history and criminology, are just a few of the students that signed a petition to prevent tearing down JON.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people who’d rather go here than the ARC or RPAC because you can come and get the job done as far as lifting and playing basketball,” Repuyan said.

Nickley agreed with Repuyan’s comments.

“I’ve been working out for four years and I feel on north campus, this is the only place to work out,” Nickley said. “With the parking regulations the way they are, there’s nowhere to park at those other areas.”

The new student academic services building would replace the department’s offices which are currently housed in the bottom part of Lincoln Tower. The new space left in Lincoln Tower would be converted to additional dorm rooms.

Despite the proposed new buildings, Repuyan said he would like to see things stay the way they are.

“It has its own community, like a small town,” he said. “When I walk in, I see at lest a dozen people I know everyday. At RPAC, I’ve never seen the same person twice.”