Numerous major construction projects, including a new campus center, dorm renovations, University museum, and the addition of the Long Lane property buildings, will both beautify and benefit the University over the next few years.
The Suzanne Lemberg Usdan University Center will cost a projected $47.4 million and will become the centerpiece of the University. Construction began on June 20, 2005.
“By providing a central location for formal and informal gatherings, [Usdan] will have far-reaching effects on the academic community and on student life,” states the Campus Master plan.
The center will house mail service, dining facilities, classrooms, meeting rooms, storage space, and retail space. Next door, the Fayerweather building, which will maintain the shell of the demolished field house, will provide theatre and dance performance space as well as a ballroom for formal functions.
Currently the Center’s steel erection is complete, while spray fireproofing, roofing, masonry exterior and interior walls, mechanical installations, electrical installations, and site utility installations are ongoing, according to Project Manager Alan Rubacha.
Once construction of The Usdan Center is complete, Davenport Campus Center will be converted to classrooms and offices for the social sciences. Additionally, Mocon Dining Hall will be demolished, as The Usdan Center assumes the bulk of campus dining responsibilities.
The Foss Hill dorms will undergo renovation this summer, transforming four halls into “program halls” in the process. These program halls will house the relocated Film, French, Japanese, and Science programs and will include a kitchen and a common space, as well as singles and two-room doubles.
“We anticipate that the four new program housing spaces in Foss will be permanent, although, as with all our program housing, which programs are housed there may change at some point,” said Director of Residential Life Fran Koerting. As a result of the renovations, Hewitt 8 and 9 will house solely sophomores, while the rest of the Foss Hill dorms will remain a mix of freshmen and sophomores. Those halls that do not become program halls will also receive upgrades over the summer.
“Additional work that will be done includes the following: corridors (new carpet, lighting, paint, ceiling), card access, refinishing the lounges, and creation of common kitchens, new laundry in Foss 8, additional laundry machines in Foss 5, and conversion of the student storage spaces into program house space,” Koerting wrote in an email. “The two-room doubles will undergo minor renovations so that each room will have its own dresser, closet and bookcase. The exterior of the buildings will be painted, including the balcony railings.”
In February construction began on the Long Lane properties. The area will eventually become on-campus storage for students, as well as becoming the headquarters for physical plant.
In the near future, the University plans to break ground on the University Museum, located near Usdan, in place of the old squash courts.
“The University Museum project is intended to house Wesleyan University’s collections of art and material culture in ways that will support a wide range of innovative learning from objects in a facility that meets accepted museum standards for climate control, security, and display,” reads the University Master Plan.
The museum construction, the demolition of Mocon, and the inevitable future dorm renovations exemplify the University’s commitment to the continual update and maintenance of campus facilities.
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