Construction season has finally arrived in Hanover as the Office of Residential Life works furiously to carry out much-needed renovations on buildings and Phi Delta Alpha prepares to return to campus as a full-fledged fraternity.
Year-round education at Dartmouth takes a heavy toll on the Office of Residential Life. Routine maintenance tasks, as well as major renovations have to be carried out on a tight schedule. Contrary to popular belief, summer does not bring much respite either, according to Woody Eckels, the Director of Residential Operations.
This year, summer students are being housed chiefly in the Gold Coast, Mass Row, Butterfield-Russell Sage, affinity housing and Greek houses. Many of the other buildings are used every year for summer programs, including sports camps, short academic institutes organized by different departments and conferences.
Facilities Operations and Management handles minor work such as fixing shades and cleanups during interim periods. Major work, though, is difficult given the year-round nature of Dartmouth classes.
"This has always been the issue for us here at Dartmouth, especially in the Gold Coast and Mass Row, which have historically been summer dorms," Eckels said.
To cope with this, ORL reserves rooms for athletes returning early for Fall term sports. This allows ORL to work in the empty rooms over the summer, and the athletes do not have to move from one room to the other when they arrive on campus.
One of the most notable renovations this summer is on Webster Avenue, where Phi Delta Alpha fraternity is working to finish its renovations so its members can move in. According to Phi Delt president Robert Freiman '05 a lot of work was put in to their house during Spring term, and the members are expecting to move in by the end of next week, pending the installation of Ethernet connections and a final inspection by ORL.
Phi Delt, however, is still a colony, and it is following an action plan formed by the a committee of Greek leaders to gain full recognition.
Freiman appeared upbeat about his organization's future prospects. "Dean [of Residential Life Martin] Redman and ORL have been extremely cooperative and supportive in our effort to return to campus as a residential organization," Freiman said.
ORL is conducting two major renovations this summer.
The River apartments -- Maxwell and Channing Cox -- are being significantly revamped, with both structural and decorative upgrades. ORL recently replaced the roof on the Maxwell apartments and purchased new furniture and appliances for the common areas of both buildings.
"We've replaced the ugly purple and lime green laminates with new oak wood," Eckels said.
In addition, the old fire alarm system has been replaced with an "addressable" one that pinpoints the precise location of a fire. While apartments have individual entrances, the common basements now have new card access locks for greater security.
Eckels said that ORL is unsure about the future of the surrounding "Tree House" residence halls. When the temporary buildings were built in September of 2001, the Town of Hanover gave the College a three-year permit, which expires at the end of next spring. The College then expected that the planned residence halls on North Maynard Street would nearing completion by then, but since ground has yet to be broken for those dorms, ORL is now considering whether or not to apply for an extension of the permit.
The other major College-run renovation project is being undertaken at Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority.
"Our main goal," Eckels said, "is to upgrade life safety for the residents." An extension with a few extra rooms will be added to the house, and more importantly, a new fire exit. A new $100,000 furnace has been installed, providing hot water.
"KDE is undergoing renovations to accommodate sisters and guests with disabilities. The house will be a bit larger with more practical space for sisters -- both living in the house and not -- to study and hang out," Mallory Fosdick '05, the summer president, told The Dartmouth. "Current sisters will make sure that the house keeps its character by repainting the famous basement and meetings room murals, but the renovations that the college is making will definitely serve to make the house more livable and welcoming to everyone."
