Two res halls to undergo summer remodeling

This summer, renovations will begin in Grimm and Stratton Hall which will include new furniture, windows, doors, floor work and a touch up on paint. New card readers will also be added to all of the residence halls.

The remodeling will cost $300,000 for Grimm and $400,000 for Stratton, as well as $500,000 for the furniture in both halls, Residence Life Assistant Director Julie Phelps estimated. 

All residence halls this summer will also be getting new card readers. These new proximity card readers are called “prox-readers” and will allow a student to have their card close by to get inside, instead of having to swipe the card through the reader.

Residence Life will be trying to restore different residence halls each summer depending on spending opportunities and the conditions of the halls.

“It’s an ongoing process and every year we look at what needs to be done. Right now we have a projected six years out on what we want to do but that depends on budget expenses,” Phelps said. 

The Residence Life staff also listens to the input of students concerning the living area that they inhabit throughout the school year. Grimm Hall desk assistant Laura Reimann said that the wooden doorframes look old and that new tiling is needed in the bathroom.

“It really doesn’t look too bad, but it’s needed because of the other remodeling done in the other halls,” Reimann said.

Most of the renovation projects happen during the summer as construction would impact students’ lives during the school year.

“They need new desks, and the mailboxes are so small,” Johnson Hall desk assistant Ben Klinkner said. “I agree that new furniture is needed in Stratton.”

During February, students picked out furniture they liked based on a showcase of many different brands. The Residence Life staff tried to get everything that the students want, as long as it was within the budget.

“The new furniture looked nice and I really like the new desk chairs,” Resident Assistant Danielle Cochran said. The desk chairs can switch from a chair and desk to a chair without legs that sits on the floor.

Grimm Hall was of high importance in getting remodeled because “it looks old and feels old compared to some of the other halls,” Phelps said.

Also partly because of the wear and tear by the usage of the Kansas City Chiefs that have stayed in Grimm Hall for the past 18 years during the summer.

This summer, Grimm Hall has been taken offline for use by the Chiefs. The Chiefs have been asked to stay in McMillan instead, as a result of the construction.

Stratton was picked out among the other halls to get repaired because it needed new windows and new furniture.

“We space them [residence halls] out, what could we do where and what could we afford,” Phelps said. 

Next summer’s plans include the renovations of Hathorn Hall and Crabtree Hall. In Hathorn, plans so far are for new windows, furniture and a heating system. In Crabtree, the bathroom and roof, among other renovations, will be considered next year.

The following summer, construction on the addition of the South Forks Suites will begin. The project has been approved and towards the end of June 2011 they will decide on architecture. The construction will last roughly 18 months and is expected to be completed by 2012.