Come June, students may be on vacation, but the Department of Facilities Management will have no shortage of assignments. With the seniors' departure after Commencement Weekend, Facilities Management will quickly get to work on a number of campus improvements.
Staff will install more bicycle racks, improve the area adjacent to Caswell Hall, repair sidewalks and perform classroom and dormitory room renewal as well as energy conservation projects.
"We try to start as early as we can," said Stephen Maiorisi, vice president for Facilities Management. There are only about 10 weeks to get much of the work done. The absence of much of the student body allows Facilities Management to complete projects without as much interference as there would be during the academic year.
About $47 million will be spent over the summer, said Paul Dietel, director of project management. This expenditure is comparable to those of previous years, Maiorisi said.
Currently, bikes can be found locked to railings, trees and other objects across campus. But the installation of about 80 to 100 new bike racks in around eight locations will ease these parking woes. The rack locations have not yet been finalized, Dietel said.
New stairs to the sidewalk from the east side of Caswell Hall will allow a "safe egress path" for students exiting the dorm, Maiorisi said. Currently, students exit onto a patch of dirt and must then jump down several feet to reach the sidewalk.
Sidewalks will be replaced in various locations around campus.
Pending city approval, the University will also replace several of the artistically designed crosswalks on Thayer Street. The mosaic-style crosswalks would be replaced with traditional ladder designs, Dietel said.
The Main Green will see increased lighting as a result of community feedback about current lighting levels, Maiorisi said.
MacMillan 117 and Salomon 001, as well as classrooms in Wilson Hall and Barus and Holley, will be upgraded over the summer. Improvements may include fresh coats of paint, new carpeting and updated audio-visual equipment and will cost about $100,000, Dietel said.
Along with classroom updates, about 600 rooms will be painted this summer, Maiorisi said.
Solar panels will be installed on the roof of the GeoChem building, which Dietel called "a really cool project."
Work will continue on major capital projects, such as the Medical Education Building — scheduled to open for classes in August — the new fitness and aquatics center and the renovation of the Metcalf Chemistry and Research Laboratory.
Work will be completed on the $15.5 million Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics — located at 121 South Main St. — with one floor done in June and the other in July.
In the Jewelry District, streetscape improvements as well as the creation of a new public plaza will occur over the summer. "Our goal is to get (the plaza) done by the end of the summer," though construction work has not yet begun, Maiorisi said.
Facilities Management will also conduct regular repair and maintenance, he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
