Almost 80 years after its construction, Bennett Hall will soon undergo renovations aimed at modernization and improvement.
Planned to begin next summer, the $18 million construction project will outfit the building at the corner of Walnut and 34th streets, with new windows, a new elevator and an improved ventilation system.
Noting that the construction plans remain tentative, School of Arts and Sciences Dean Samuel Preston said he was "quite hopeful that they will go forward."
Renovations to the facility have been planned since the School of Arts and Sciences released its Agenda for Excellence in 1995, but lack of funding has hindered the project.
"We're close, and we're confident," Preston said of funding the renovations.
"It won't be expanded, but it will be modernized," he added, emphasizing the need to have better sound insulation and a replacement for the current "disaster" air conditioning system.
Also planned are renovations for the neighboring Music Department facilities. The project will begin once the work on Bennett Hall is completed, according to University officials.
A feasibility study conducted in 2000 considered incorporating the Music Department into Bennett Hall, but current plans will preserve a separate building while allocating some space within Bennett to be used for music performance and classroom space.
"We've done some additional studies," University architect Charles Newman said. "We're tying to figure out the best, most cost-effective way to improve both buildings."
The current music performing space -- located in the basement of the 111-year-old Music Building, located at 201 S. 34th Street -- is "probably the worst space in the School of Arts and Sciences," Preston said.
Plans for the music building remain in the initial stages, including general aims to create areas for common activities and to improve classroom and office spaces.
After a $3.5 million anonymous donation last spring, the renovation now requires more extensive planning, according to University officials.
"The money is in place, but the planning is still in the beginning," Music Department head Jeffrey Kallberg said, noting that the project timetable "seems to be in flux."
University officials plan to proceed with the renovations by moving the Bennett Hall departments into the "swing space" that will be created at 34th and Market streets when the Williams Hall departments vacate the temporary space and are resituated in Williams Hall.
