With the completion of improvements to Old East and Old West, major renovations to campus residence halls have ended for now.
Intensive work to campus housing likely won’t be scheduled for the next few years in order to prevent student rent fees from spiking, said Rick Bradley, assistant director of communications for the Department of Housing and Residential Education.
Most renovation projects to residence halls receive no state money and are funded by student rent.
What will continue are smaller work projects during the summer months when some housing is left unoccupied. This work includes installing air conditioning in Craige Residence Hall and Ehringhaus Residence Hall as well as sprinklers in all residence halls by 2012.
Hinton James Residence Hall was the next planned for renovations, but housing officials said they do not know when those plans will continue or if Hinton James will be delayed for a smaller project.
Bradley defined full-on renovations as work that closes a residence hall for “a good portion” of the academic year. Those projects can become a costly use of student rent.
“We have to be good stewards of the student resources provided,” Bradley said. “We can’t just constantly renovate, or the prices would go through the roof. It’s always a balance of needs and resources available.”
The projected budget for the Old East and Old West renovations was $8.5 million.
When the green construction tarps came down from the buildings about a month ago and students were allowed back in, the buildings didn’t look much different.
The purpose of the renovations was to replace mechanical systems, repair roofing structural elements and stop leaks caused by plumbing issues. Much of the work took place behind brick and mortar or in the roof and attic.
“The student rooms and common areas don’t really look any different,” Bradley said.
Old East and Old West each house about 65 students. Bradley said they are two of the most popular residence halls on campus, attributing demand for rooms to the history, location and unique design and charm compared to other halls.
The buildings flank the Old Well, overlook McCorkle Place and are a short walk from Franklin Street.
Old East made history as the first state university building in the United States, completed on Oct. 12, 1793 — now celebrated as University Day.
It was designated as a National Historic Landmark and is the only UNC residence hall with its own Wikipedia entry. A Wikipedia search for Old West is redirected to a page about cowboys, six-shooters and Manifest Destiny.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
Residence hall renovations on hold for now
Ean Lescott moves his daughter Annika into Old East Residence Hall, which recently reopened after renovations, on Saturday.
