“It’s the next phase we talked about,” said Trustee Donald Nugent during the meeting. “Those buildings have really exceeded their use for life (and) to rework those buildings is cost prohibitive.”

Cherry Lane and Faculty Bricks apartments are slated for demolition in July 2011 with a budget of $5.3 million. Nugent said when the project is complete, it will serve as green space until a future board might designate it as academic or other space.

University officials might relocate students and families living in the apartments to Spartan Village, as they believe there is enough space for those affected.

Although the board has moved forward with the project during the last several months, some still do not approve of its decision.

“I would like it to not be demolished,” said Charlie Hoover, a no-preference sophomore. “It’s (a) good location and not too expensive.”

Hoover, who lives in the Cherry Lane apartments, said he is concerned about how students with children and families will be affected. It remains to be determined how relocation arrangements will be made.

Trustee Melanie Foster also expressed her apprehensiveness of the possible relocation efforts to Spartan Village.

“It’s a community that isn’t necessarily family-orientated,” she said. “Historically, it used to be, but not anymore. I think it’s important that we do address a specific housing area for families.”

Also during the Friday meeting, the board approved the 2011-12 Appropriation Request, which showcases what the university has done to deserve state funding, said Dave Byelich, director of the MSU Office of Planning and Budgets.

MSU’s Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, or FRIB, project and its work within the University Research Corridor are key points within the request, sending legislators the message that MSU is part of the picture to bring dollars to the state, said Fred Poston, MSU vice president for finance and operations and treasurer.

Because of minimal funding available to public universities, administrators requested the state keep MSU’s appropriations stable at about $283.6 million — a dollar amount corresponding with the current 2010-11 fiscal year, he said.

“Certainly, some years are better than others in terms of appropriations to higher education,” Poston said. “It’s really the official start to the conversation between the university and the Legislature and the governor’s office.”

Plans for physical enhancements to Fairchild Theatre — located in the Auditorium on Farm Lane and Auditorium Road — also were unanimously approved by the board at a preliminary cost of $11.5 million.

Although the facility holds 560 seats, it is not ideal for large-scale musical performances — including opera and jazz bands — without an orchestra pit and improvements to the space’s acoustics, Poston said during the meeting.

He also said the theater is not in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act design standards, which must be corrected.

“We’ve looked at a number of improvements (and there were) fundamental problems,” Poston said during the meeting.