Improvements to Powers Hall restrooms among summer construction projects


Summer is one of the busiest times of the year for the Facilities Management Administration, which uses the lack of campus traffic to work on larger-scale construction projects. 

Under the supervision of associate vice president Jonathan Webb, Facilities Management will spend most of the next three months completing projects within the deferred maintenance program. Deferred maintenance refers to larger-scale projects that requires Board of Trustees approval before moving forward.

Deferred maintenance and capital improvement projects include:

  • The water infrastructure of Powers Hall. Renovations will target drainage lines and restrooms, which will be remodeled to accommodate people with disabilities. The project will also see the installation of water fountains with bottle fillers. Construction will be complete Aug. 11.
  • Lot 11 near Finch Hall. Webb says that while Facilities Management typically try to extend the life of parking lots with smaller projects like crack repair, but the condition of the parking lot meant that tearing up the asphalt and recompacting the subbase layer was the only viable option. The project will be complete by the end of June.
  • Re-roofing Brooks Hall and Moore Hall. Renovations and improvements to the roofing on Brooks Hall will take place between June 19 and June 30, with repairs for Moore Hall taking place between July 10 and July 28. Repairs have already been made to the dome of the Bovee University Center.
  • Grawn Hall renovations, which are due to be "substantially completed" by the time students return in late August. Construction will center around the addition of 6,000 square feet to the west side of the building, and a 1,000 square feet addition to the east side of the building. The new space will house a new reading and study room, a cafe for students and expanded collaboration space. New windows and an improved fire suppression system will also be installed. 

Smaller projects to be completed over the summer will include:

  • The north sidewalk of the Biosciences building will be expanded for fire truck access.
  • Old light poles around campus will be replaced with energy efficient LED lighting fixtures.
  • Parking lots across campus will have cracks filled.
  • Sidewalks at several locations across campus will be replaced.
  • The deteriorating retaining wall between the Indoor Athletic Complex and Kelly/Shorts Stadium will be replaced.
  • The storm sewer system in Lot 53 near Saxe Hall will be upsized to prevent water from building up during rain storms.

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