First phase of Quad renovations nears end

Construction on the Quadrangle this summer has focused on historical resotations to its exterior. Renovations to the Quadrangle are proceeding according to schedule and most of this summer's construction phase will be completed by August 16, University officials said earlier this week. The renovations, part of the University's 10-year, $300 million dormitory and dining hall renovation project, began in May and are expected to take place primarily during the next four summers. The $75 million project will merge the Quad's four existing college houses into three, add new facilities and utility systems and repair and restore parts of the building's architecture. Most of this summer's renovations have focused on historical restoration of the Quad's outside architectural elements and the installation of new mechanical infrastructure inside the residence that will allow for better heat, water and electrical systems. While only a portion of the total four-year project is nearing completion, University officials believe the residence is already looking better than it has in years. "I think people will see a difference," Director of College Houses and Academic Services David Brownlee said. "I'm very, very pleased. It looks great." The majority of the renovations has been taking place on Woodland Walk -- the area between the Quad and Stouffer Triangle that extends from Spruce Street to 38th Street – and inside the "baby Quad" areas of Lower Quad. Officials are still trying to assess what work will continue into the school year and plan to continue only those renovations that will not disturb students and faculty residents. "Our intent is to identify work that we can continue with that will not be disruptive to our residents," said Al Zuino, Penn's associate director for housing and conference services. Zuino said August 16 was chosen as the cutoff for most construction work because housing officials must begin preparing for college house staff and students to move back into the residence at that time. Project Manager Kevin Kimmel of Ewing Cole Cherry Brott, the architectural firm managing the renovations, said that although work may continue intermittently through December, most of the work will take place in "areas that are not accessible to students," including basements and storage areas. Along Woodland Walk, construction crews have been cleaning and refreshing the mortar on the outside of the Quad all summer, and workers should complete that part of the project by the August 16 deadline. And inside baby Quad, the ground has been torn up and trees removed in order to install new utility and drainage systems. While a temporary landscape will be reinstalled by the time students arrive this fall, the final paving and landscaping of baby Quad will not be complete until later phases of construction. "The pathways that will be put down in the next week or two will be the final pattern, they just won't be the final material," Kimmel said, adding that trees won't reappear in baby Quad until at least next year. Workers have also been repairing the surfaces of Memorial Tower and Provost's Tower. And Brownlee said that portions of Community House and Ware College House will receive new furniture in rooms and lounges this fall. After this summer, more visible work will take place on the Quad. By the end of next summer, new security systems should be in place at the Quad's two main entrances. During the third and fourth years of renovations, the rooms themselves will be redecorated, painted and repaired. Home to about 1,500 students, the Quad's four college houses will be merged into three, each with one faculty master, two faculty fellows and a house dean -- the same number of administrators who serve the four current houses. The new layout of the college houses will include a third entrance gate and will correspond more closely with the physical landscape of the Quad. Additional classrooms, seminar rooms, office suites and computer laboratories will also be added. The project will add both private bathrooms and more single rooms in an attempt to entice upperclassmen to stay in the Quad, which has traditionally been a first-year dorm. Last November, University administrators unveiled their 10-year plan to renovate every dormitory and dining facility and construct several new residences in Hamilton Village. The $300 million project is the single-largest construction binge since the early 1970s.