Students returning to campus next fall will see multiple new additions to the academic side of campus, which includes a $28.5 million facelift to the Annie Richardson Bass Building.

Harold Leeman, director of facility planning and construction, said the main addition should be finished by August 2014.

Leeman said a new building will consist of office space and classrooms. It will also feature an atrium connecting the new building to the old one, with skylights topping the atrium to bring in natural light.

“When the sun goes over, we’re hoping that we’ve got a nice play of light going across the atrium floor,” Leeman said.

The addition will also be accompanied by renovations to the original building over two 3-month periods, Leeman said.

The first stage of renovations, which will happen between May and August, will focus on the first and third floors. The second set of construction will focus on the second floor and will begin in fall 2014.

Lori Camperlengo, a faculty associate in the Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences, said the new additions will bring needed space to the school.

“We have been living on top of each other for many years,” Camperlengo said.

Camperlengo also said one of the main benefits of the addition will be a central location for students to find their professors.

“[Professors] have been dispersed on campus between GrandMarc, the library and then other spots on campus,” Camperlengo said. “I think it’s going to help the climate here too, just to have all the nursing faculty in one place.”

Jessica Benninghoff, a sophomore nursing major, said she is excited to see the new additions in the fall, as all of her classes are in Bass.

“You can only go up from here,” Benninghoff said. “It’ll be nice when you can take tours through it, and it is as beautiful as the rest of the campus.”