Recent renovations to Edens Quadrangle and Brown residence hall are only the beginning of construction projects for residence halls on campus.
Wannamaker Quadrangle and Giles residence hall will undergo renovations in Summer 2016 that will update current facilities and add new amenities. These two projects are part of a string of renovations to residence halls set to occur on both East and West Campus in the next few years. Rick Johnson, associate vice president of student affairs for housing, dining and residence life, said that the plans represent an attempt by HDRL and the University to update nearly every dormitory on campus.
“We want to bring housing up to the level of the academics,” Johnson said. “It’s both pieces of the puzzle—great academics and great facilities that support co-curricular learning.”
The renovations to Giles will include improving lighting in the hallways and rooms, completely redoing the bathrooms and refurbishing and renovating the common rooms, he explained. The budget for the project is currently estimated at $3 million. Air-conditioning was added to all East Campus residence halls this past summer.
“Every interior space, we’re going to redo,” Johnson said.
The Wannamaker renovations will involve similar improvements to bathrooms and common areas. In addition, a unique feature to fit the needs of the residents will be included.
“We look at each building and that community—Wannamaker—and ask ourselves, ‘What is something different that we can add to build community?’” Johnson said.
Although this addition to Wannamaker has not yet been decided, the Edens renovations included a fitness center, study areas and the Bolt, a game room. The approximate budget for the Wannamaker renovations is approximately $4.5 million.
Past and current residents of Wannamaker and Giles noted that these improvements will make the dorms more appealing places to live.
“The renovations will add a cherry on top to Giles,” said junior Alex LaDue, who lived in Giles during his freshman year. “The bathrooms have been in need of a renovation for a long time. They weren’t very nice and the showers all had issues, were kind of old and gross and the bathroom stalls had weird saloon doors on them.”
Sophomore Jennifer Dietzel, a current resident of Wannamaker, said that redoing the lighting in Wannamaker will make the common rooms more inviting and less dark and secluded.
Rohini Paul, a sophomore, added that improving the common rooms will bring the Wannamaker community together more and noted that the House Council frequently utilizes the common areas.
“I was considering moving next year because I’m really far from my friends, but if Wannamaker is making renovations, I might consider just staying there,” she said.
The renovations in Giles and Wannamaker follow this summer’s renovations to Brown, which included improvements to the bathrooms, common room and kitchen as well as the creation of a new study room. Other recent renovations on East Campus include adding air conditioning to all dorms and improving bathrooms, bedrooms and common areas in Gilbert-Addoms in Summer 2013.
Although plans have not yet been finalized, two more dorms on East Campus will likely be renovated in Summer 2017. These projects are set to continue until all dorms on East Campus have been updated, Johnson said. He explained that HDRL’s goal is to have renovated every residence hall on East Campus by Fall 2018.
Similarly on West Campus, Crowell and Craven will undergo renovations after the Wannamaker project is completed.
Unlike the projects on other residence halls, the renovations to Crowell and Craven will involve adding central air conditioning and sprinkler systems and will last 12-15 months, Johnson said. The project on Crowell will take place before the renovations in Craven.
Johnson explained that additional planning regarding where students assigned to these quadrangles will live during the renovations has only been brainstormed. He said, however, that he hopes to keep houses together on campus during the construction.
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