The Board of Visitors recently approved a $15.2 million project that will address maintenance issues in Newcomb Hall.
The project, which is scheduled to begin around May 2010, will be funded primarily by student fees, Newcomb Hall Director Bill Ashby stated in an e-mail.
“The focus of the Newcomb Hall renewal project will be primarily to remediate existing building issues and to tackle deferred maintenance,” Ashby stated, adding that the project will not add “any significant amount of square feet to the building.”
He noted that parts of the building have deteriorated in recent years because of water intrusion, making it vital that the University perform significant repairs. To start addressing this issue, the University completed a roof replacement project last year, Ashby stated, but the newly approved project will allow the University to repair the damage and help prevent it from reoccurring.
“The project will also allow the University to renew many of the heavily utilized public spaces, such as the Ballroom and Main Lounge and Theater and Theater Lobby,” Ashby stated in the e-mail.
Additional renewal work will take place in the building’s basement, student activities areas and game room.
Third-year Commerce student Masa Masuda, though, said he does not see Newcomb Hall’s physical condition as a visible problem.
“I don’t think the maintenance has ever gotten in the way,” Masuda said, adding that he mainly visits the building to eat at the dining hall.
Engineering graduate student Marshall Tabetah agreed, adding that, in most respects, the building’s infrastructure has not made it difficult for him to use its services. He also said Newcomb Hall’s layout, however, can make it confusing to navigate through the building.
“I think apart from knowing where to locate oneself precisely, there is no problem,” Tabetah said.
Newcomb Hall will remain open during the renovations in 2010.
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