Construction of Embarcadero Hall is right on schedule, ensuring that knowledge will flow like the beer once served at the Isla Vista Beer Company.

Located in the former home of the IVBC, Embarcadero Hall will provide 9,000 square feet of learning space after completion of the $2.4 million remodel in November. The hall will seat approximately 240 students, and will help alleviate the need for large lecture halls due to a surge of undergraduate students in lower division lectures, said Art Battson, an associate in the Instructional Resources Department, who has played a large part in planning the technology which will be housed in the new hall.

Embarcadero Hall will house all of the standard equipment, including data projectors, built in computers and DVD/VCR compatibility but will also have a wireless internet connection from the campus, raising the standard for all new classrooms to follow, Battson said.

“The most exciting part of this project is the amazing conductivity to the Internet,” he said. “The hall will have a wireless Internet connection from campus.”

Project manager Celeste Manolis, said she believes everything will be on schedule.

“We are all really excited for the upcoming months,” she said. “The project is still in the demolition and early remodeling stages, but everyone is optimistic about the November completion date.”

The Isla Vista Recreation and Parks District is working closely with the Embarcadero Hall project to make the surrounding area a pleasant place to relax or study. A plaza with several benches and plants will encompass the building.

In addition to the lecture hall, Embarcadero Hall will contain two extra classrooms that will serve as tutorial classrooms. The second floor of the building will house the Isla Vista Community Liaison and some student life offices.

“The place is really the best economic choice for UCSB,” Battson said. “Plus, it will be a stunning facility.”

Although UCSB chose to buy the old IVBC for financial reasons, junior biology major Mike Ports, who lives in Isla Vista, saw the building’s location as its biggest asset.

“With another place to take a class in Isla Vista, I won’t have to ride my bike in the morning if I am a little under the weather,” Ports said. “Even though I wish Isla Vista Beer Company would go back into business, the new lecture hall should be a major convenience.”