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Demolition of Hyer can be viewed via Web cam at www.uwsp.edu/admin/busaffairs/facplan/ beginning next week.
Campus recieves many summer facelifts
The Pointer
kbeck271@uwsp.edu
As students returned to campus last week, they saw many familiar things like old friends, long lines at the Universiy store and groups of freshmen on Division Street. Progress at the university, however, did not stop when most students left The Univeristy of Wisconsin - Stevens Point last May. Over the summer, many changes including repairs and renovations took place on campus.
One of the most obvious is the $1.48 million renovation of parking lot R, located on the corner of Portage and Reserve Streets, and parking lot K, behind Nelson Hall. One hundred and thirty-nine spaces, both metered and permit were added in lot R, as well as many sustainability features.
According to Greg Diemer, vice chancellor of business affairs, the reconstructed lot includes a state-of-the-art storm water drainage system that allows water to percolate into the subsoil instead of being channled into the Wisconsin River. The newly added landscaped areas throughout the parking lot are part of that system. The renovated lot also features LED lighting, which is more energy efficient and requires less maintenance than the previous lighting system. In addition, the space now includes a sidewalk on Portage Street making the area more accessible and safer for students.
The lot will be completely open as soon as the correct size parking meters arrive and are installed. The posts that were installed are too small for the size of meters originally ordered, said a University Centers employee.
Students living in Steiner Hall may have been pleasantly surprised by the facelift the building received over the summer. Updates include a thin coat of plaster over the cinderblock walls in the rooms, new carpeting, a sprinkler system and the installation of an elevator. Baldwin Hall was the first building to undergo renovation during the summer of 2008; Hansen Hall is slated for work in the summer of 2010. According to Joe Totman, Residential Living director, up to $5 million will be spent each summer for the next six summers to continue residence hall renovations, budget permitting.
The other major project for the residence halls is the demolition of Hyer Hall, scheduled to begin the week of September 14. Students interested in watching the demolition and construction at the site can access a live Web cam through the Facilities Planning Web page: www.uwsp.edu/admin/busaffairs/facplan/.
The building to replace Hyer Hall will be a five story, 330-bed suite-style residence community geared toward upperclassmen, expected to be completed by Fall 2011. The current freshman class will be the first class able to live there.
The demolition of an entire hall has required some student housing to be rearranged. According to Diemer, there is “just barely” enough space to fit all students requiring on-campus housing. Adaptations made to fit those displaced include fewer single rooms, some hall staff taking on roommates and converting 20 floor kitchens into rooms for students. The squeeze on housing accommodations, however, has not affected freshman admissions. Some on-campus housing requests by upper-level students, on the other hand, were denied because of the residence space shortage. These students were forced to find alternative housing off campus.
Other, less obvious improvements on campus include new lighting in the Multi-Activity Center, Quandt and Berg gyms as well as floor resurfacing in the latter two gyms. Technology upgrades were installed in selected classrooms in the Communication Arts Center and science buildings, and the bridge by DeBot Dining Center is currently under construction. Students walking between the Dreyfus University Center and the CAC may have noticed some orange fencing. Work is currently in progress to erect a shell around a cooling tower on the top of the DUC to maintain the aesthetic value.
“I was pleased to see it and in some ways, I wasn’t, ‘cause I didn’t think we had to spend that much money on cosmetics. But a lot of people said it would look a whole lot nicer,” said Bob Tomlinson, the vice chancellor of student affairs.
Planning for future projects has not stopped with the return of students. Projects in the works include the construction of a waste management lab near parking lots S and J, installation of air conditioning in the renovated residence halls, relocation of the military science department to the HEC and renovation of the Maintenance & Materials Building.
