Constructed in 1937, the Student Activity Center Building (or SAC Building) on USU Eastern’s campus has seen its fair share of different activities from housing a student center and cafeteria to offering rooms for a multitude of classes and other services.
“Over the years, it had a lot of functions,” USU Eastern Chancellor Joe Peterson explained. “It was a building that was added onto.” Peterson reminisced on the functions of the SAC Building including rooms for trade classes such as automotive and welding instruction, cosmetology, counseling offices, the home for the University’s radio station and even the school’s post office. Laughing, Peterson relayed an old joke that the acronym SAC actually stood for Several Activities Center.
The decision to demolish the building came about after a consideration on the cost of renovation versus demolition with demolition coming out as the cheaper option. On top of the cost comparison, the building, which is over 75 years old, had been built in an inopportune location.
“The building was on soil that was moving,” Peterson elaborated. “There were always new cracks.” Some classrooms, according to Peterson, even had as many as five different kinds of tile throughout the room as a result of various floor work that was performed as need arose.
The future vision for the area will not be realized for some time. However, upon recently completing USU Eastern’s Campus Master Plan, the destiny of the area has been decided.
The plan, which sets forth an idea of what the campus will look like fifty years in the future, includes a central campus quad in the space where the building used to be. “It will not be the location for another building,” Peterson assured. Benches, landscaping and a clock tower are planned to come together to create the planned addition. An estimated date of completion was not offered.
