Dormitories and classrooms may be emptying for the summer, but construction crews will soon be filling campus as work gets underway on projects across campus.
Among the most significant construction will be work to the Hamilton Village area, including the completion of work on Hamilton College House, which began last summer, and the start of work on Harrison College House, scheduled to be completed next summer.
"It is a very challenging schedule to complete this project during the summer," said David Brownlee, former College Houses and Academic Services director. "We're completing one $26 million project and starting another.... That's a lot to do in basically a two-and-a-half-month period."
Scaffolding -- which was down for the winter -- has returned to the outside of Hamilton for the application of the final coat of tinted sealant on the exterior. By the time students return in the fall, the building should feature new, silver-framed windows, fresh carpeting, furniture and paint. A redesigned front lobby, including automated turnstiles, improved exercise space and new student practice rooms will also be among the changes.
Neighboring Harrison College House will also undergo extensive work this summer as the first phase of renovations begins. Work will include new sprinklers and extensive repair to the building's concrete exterior.
Both projects were approved by the University Board of Trustees in February 2002 as part of a six-year, $80 million project to revamp the Hamilton Village area.
Close to the high rises, work on Hillel's new home, Steinhardt Hall, is nearing completion. Despite having faced some fundraising setbacks, Hillel administrators have said the project is on track, and Steinhardt should be open when freshmen arrive on campus.
Other work scheduled for the summer includes the demolition of Pender Laboratory on the 3300 block between Walnut and Locust streets to create space for Skirkanich Hall. However, work on the new building will not begin until spring 2004.
"We wanted to do the demolition during the summer because it is destructive," Vice President for Facilities and Real Estate Services Omar Blaik said.
When complete, the $38 million Bioengineering building will include nearly 55,500 square feet of space to be used for classrooms, offices and, most importantly, wet labs. The building will replace the 15,000 square-foot Pender Lab, which houses few classrooms and some offices.
The first phase of the Life Sciences Building will also begin construction this summer on 38th Street and Hamilton Walk, next to Leidy Laboratories. This phase of construction, priced at $57 million, will create space for the Biology Department when it is completed in 2005.
However, some concerns linger about possible damage the construction may cause to the nearby BioPond. Officials have acknowledged that the five-story building will reduce the amount of light the historic botanical garden receives. Additionally, construction will require removing some trees, and dust and equipment may damage the fragile campus oasis.
Yet, Blaik said efforts have been taken to minimize the damage, including consulting specialists from the Morris Arboretum who will supervise the construction.
"We believe at the end of this project, the BioPond will be much more robust and visited and seen really as a wonderful resource," Blaik said.
Other changes on campus this summer include heating and ventilation improvements to Williams Hall and Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, landscaping and renaming of Hill Field to Hill Square and upgrades for the Annenberg Plaza on Locust Walk.
