Augustana has several construction projects planned to be completed this summer, many of which will replace original features in older buildings.
Director of Facilities Joe Scifo said one of the major projects will be the stair replacement outside of the Thomas Tredway Library entrance in the lower quad. Those stairs are the original stairs from when the library was built and have problems with the bricks surface delaminating.
“Those stairs were not part of the construction of the new CSL, so, they have been there for about 20 years now and it is time to give them some attention” said Scifo.
The biggest and most noticed project will be the remodel of Westerlin Residence Hall, said Scifo
The entire Jenny-Lind wing of Westerlin will be renovated this summer. The hall will gain new doors, new windows, a new heating and air conditioning system and new floors along with painting and new lights.
“Each room will look completely different than you’ve seen it now,” said Scifo
The building will also gain a new elevator, making Westerlin the only residence hall other than Swanson to have access to this feature.
“This is about $5 million worth of work going on this year, so this is certainly the largest project and it is also very time critical in terms of when it’s done,” said Scifo
The project is scheduled to take the entire summer, and Scifo said with construction a delay is always a concern.
“As we go through the schedule, and the construction is going on, at any point that we feel that we are falling behind we can certainly stream down the scope of work so that the building will be available in the beginning of August,” he said.
As an added safety measure, the contractor must provide housing for any students who are without a bed if the construction is not completed by the move in date.
Joe Sagar, assistant director of Residential Life, said he does not have the same concern.
“The longer time you give your contractors to complete a task, the more likely it is to be finished on time,” said Sagar. “One of the things that you have got to make sure when you do something like this is that you don’t rush it and end up disrupting students in the fall.”
The Office of Residential Life and Facilities have taken extra precaution to handle the excess workload as well.
“It is going to be a busy summer, but the Office of Residential Life and Facilities have got more student staff this year,” said Sagar “It is going to take time and it is a big job.”
Sagar also said that one of the primary reasons why the J-wing in Westerlin will be mostly first-year students is because there will be no early arrivals allowed to move in to that part of the building.
Scifo said the current plan is to renovate one wing per year over the next three years. The renovation will cost about $12 million at the end of the renovation, Sagar said.
This money comes from savings that the college has accumulated in previous years.
Other smaller summer projects include replacing the original roofs on the Pepsico Recreation Center and on the library and Centennial Hall of Performing Arts.
“It will be loud, and dusty and that’s why we are doing this over the summer, to cause less distraction to our students.” said Scifo
To students and staff staying over the summer, facilities asks that you pay close attention to caution signs and check emails regularly for updates from the construction teams.