Reversing the trend
set by other campus construction projects, the Doughton Residence
Hall renovation project is on schedule and moving forward.
Construction manager Douglas H. Canipe said the
330-day project is still on schedule and set for completion on Feb.
24, 2004.
Canipe said crews are now finalizing the heat
and air conditioning overhaul in the 34-year-old building.
“One
of the items that drove the project was a need for new water lines
and heat lines,” Canipe said.
Canipe said “pin holes” in the circulating water lines
had caused a failure.
“The copper [in the water lines] had deteriorated to a point
where it couldn’t be maintained,” Canipe said.
Canipe said the main water distribution line will have to be replaced,
causing the water to be shut off for at least four hours.
Canipe said he had not heard of any problems concerning water cut
offs in any surrounding dorms due to the Doughton Hall renovation.
Also at the top of the renovation list is the replacement of existing
built-in furniture with movable furniture.
“The existing furniture was in a state of disrepair,”
Canipe said.
Canipe said thermal pane windows will be added, along with two phone
and data hook-ups per room, additional electrical outlets and a
total renovation of the building’s bathrooms.
Canipe said these alterations are necessary for students’ shifting
needs.
“Our students have changed so much. Their needs have changed,”
Canipe said.
Canipe said the Doughton Hall project is priced at $4.5 to $5 million.
Director of Housing Operations Dr. Tommy Wright said the renovation
is part of a $60 million, 10-year master renovation plan for campus
residence halls.
“Doughton just happens to be one of the buildings on a higher
priority,” Wright said.
Wright said 14 residence halls will be renovated in the plan.
Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs Jane P. Helm said the heating,
plumbing and cooling systems of the older buildings called for the
renovations.
“Many of the buildings are 20 to 30 years old. The infrastructure
starts to go at that age,” Helm said.
Helm said the project will be funded through housing fees paid by
students living on campus.
Wright said the next residence halls on the renovation list, White
and Lovill residence halls, are both in the design phase of their
projects.
Wright said the completion time for the 14-hall project is difficult
to predict.
“We will be closing one hall per year till roughly 14 buildings
will be renovated,” Wright said.
Even with the loss of approximately 300 student living spaces per
year as the dorms are taken offline, Wright said there will be no
“drastic cut” of spaces for students.
Wright said he expects the 300 spaces added by the completion of
the Living-Learning Center to compensate for the yearly loss of
another residence hall.
The Living-Learning Center currently houses Doughton Hall residents
displaced in January by the construction.
Wright said the hall is slated to house the Watauga College program,
Teaching Fellows, International students and some music students
next year.
Wright said East Residence Hall, which currently houses the Watauga
College program, will be used for regular student housing with the
current academic offices converted into student rooms.
