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The Daily Tar Heel

Construction continues on Hamilton Hall and athletic fields

Construction between Hamilton Hall and Lenoir Dining Hall has closed the pathway for students. 

Construction between Hamilton Hall and Lenoir Dining Hall has closed the pathway for students. 

Some of the work being done on and around Lenoir Dining Hall is the cause of student frustration.

Construction on Hamilton Hall, which has been ongoing since the fall semester, is fixing problems associated with precast panels on the outer shell of the building, which controls the temperature and keeps out wind and rain. Construction has not interrupted classes.

The construction’s projected budget costs $1.5 million.

“To be honest it hasn’t really affected me outside of helping me know which building I had class in at the beginning of the semester,” said David Garcia, a first-year exercise and sports science major. “It was the only building I didn’t have to ask someone where it was.”

First-year sociology major Emily Pittman agreed that the work has had little impact on students taking classes inside the building.

“I go to Hamilton at least twice a day every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so I have to walk around the construction,” Pittman said. “We haven’t had to relocate our classes or anything like that though.”

While the disruption inside Hamilton has been minor, the closure of the sidewalks, which resulted from work replacing chilled water pipes that feed to buildings near Lenoir Drive, has had a larger effect on students.

The project is estimated to cost $5.2 million.

“It has caused a few issues that I have had to work around,” said junior biology major Savanna Powell. “You have to change your way to class sometimes or you have to leave earlier to avoid the traffic issues it causes.”

Powell said she was frustrated with the fact that the construction happened without warning during the middle of the semester rather than over the summer.

UNC Facilities publishes a schedule of both formal and informal projects on their website which includes projected start and end dates of upcoming projects as well as the completion percentage and the projected budget.

This schedule includes plans for replacing two fields at Finley North with artificial turf with a $12 million budget. The project will also add two grass fields for practice for varsity sports.

There will be renovations to the Odum Village community center allowing for the development of a new Student Veteran’s Center. This project has a $750,000 budget.

Two additional upcoming projects are the renovation of UNC Student Stores — with Barnes and Noble College covering the $3.8 million cost — as well as the expansion of the Eddie Smith Field House. This project is reported to have begun on March 6 and has a projected budget of $25 million.

university@dailytarheel.com

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