Updates are being made to student housing on campus

The fenced off construction site of on-campus housing buildings off of Holly Dr. ORACLE PHOTO/CHAVELI GUZMAN

Following the demolition of the Andros on-campus housing building last week, students can also expect an expansion of student housing, renovations to the Holly buildings and new franchises in the late summer and fall 2018. With that, the Holly apartments and surrounding areas are currently and will continue to be fenced off due to the $9 million enhancements taking place to the buildings.

Last year, Magnolia, a on-campus housing building, had a $10 million renovation that included exterior stucco, new roofs and interior apartment renovations. This year, it is the Holly on-campus housing buildings that will undergo the most improvements in the summer. The costs will contribute to new paint, infill, roofing on Holly C, D and G, plus heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units. The construction began May 8 after the spring term and is expected to finish Aug. 1.

Andy Johnson, the director of Operations and Outreach, said the summer construction is part of efforts to finish phase II of The Village. Last year, Phase I included Beacon, Summit, The Fit, and The Hub. The area encompassing Holly dr. and Palm dr. are fenced off for the summer so new housing building Pinnacle and Endeavor can be open in the Fall. A new eatery option, BurgerFi, will also be located on the first floor of Pinnacle as well as a Starbucks.

Johnson said east of Holly dr. there are several projects going on with buildings Holly A, C, D, E and G. Holly buildings C, D and G are in the final phase of the infill project, which entails replacing all the block and stucco pieces.

Previously, there were open walkways that would connect the two buildings together. According to Johnson, two years ago the buildings were enclosed, which later caused HVAC issues. The stucco will be substituted with thermal resistant glass, which Johnson said will make the vicinity feel more inclusive and create a better aesthetic.

Some of the Holly buildings are expected to get new roofing, according to Johnson and all of them are going to get new paint, which will change the color from a mauvy-pink to a creme color which will match Cyprus.

Johnson said it is critical for the Board of Trustees to reinvest in properties now so there will not be any maintenance issues in the future.

“You don’t want a situation wherein 50 or 60 years you have a building like Andros where it hasn’t been maintained for years and ends up being taken down,” Johnson said. “These buildings were built in the 90s, so we want them to last at least until 2030-2040.”