Andrew ODellCome the beginning of this academic year, students will have a new housing option on the South 40. Construction of Phase III, the new dormitory next to Wohl Center, is currently on schedule as workers keep up a steady pace with the project.
According to Jim Severine, assistant director of building services, a substantial portion of the construction was completed by July 15. The dorm will then undergo a final cleaning and furniture will be moved into the building starting July 21, so that it can be ready for students in late August.
“It’s gone extremely well and according to plan,” said Severine. “We’ve been on schedule and the dorm will be finished and ready for the fall.”
This Phase III construction marks the first wave of building projects on the South 40. Construction on another new dorm is set to begin early this fall in the spot where Eliot Hall once stood. Eliot was leveled June 21 to make way for a new freshman dorm of the same name, which will be paired with Nemerov Hall in a residential college setting. Construction on this new dorm will last about a year.
Phase III, which has yet to be officially named, will be a mixed housing building for both freshmen and upperclassmen with capacity for 172 students. Severine said that the exterior of the new building was designed in a style similar to that of the buildings in The Village rather than that of the other buildings on the South 40.
“The building has a more academic, distinguished look,” said Severine. “We think it will complement the other buildings well.”
Future construction plans include tearing down Liggett and Koenig Halls and replacing them with two new buildings in a residential college formation similar to that of Lien and Gregg residence halls in the Robert S. Brookings Residential College. The buildings will probably come down one at a time, and the construction on the first building should begin after the new Eliot Hall is finished in the fall of 2004.
Severine said that all of these plans are tentative and subject to change, depending on how the construction progresses over the next year. Other long-term plans include possibly rebuilding other low-rise freshman dorms such as Rubelmann, Umrath, Lee and Beaumont Halls. He noted that student feedback regarding the construction has been mostly positive, with many students being pleased at the square footage the rooms will have in the new buildings.
Some students, however, expressed concern over the plans, with particular worries related to the current sense of community that stands to be compromised with the proposed construction.
“I have come to grips with the decision to tear Eliot down,” said sophomore Rob Collins. “Still, I’m disappointed in the decision and believe the destruction of Eliot will create a void on the South 40.”
The quality of the new structures is another concern.
“I’m sure the new buildings will look nice,” said sophomore Ashley Evans. “I’m concerned they’ll be poorly made, with thin walls like I’ve found in some of the other newer dorms.”