Summertime is construction time across the campus

Raub Hall will be renovated and become the new home of the Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management.

Wolf Hall's renovation is expected to be complete in January 2003.

The DuPont Hall project, which began in June 2000, is approximately 50 percent completed.

A $1.5 million addition is being added to the Fischer Greenhouse Laboratory.

A new game-day ticket booth and concession stands will be housed in a new building under Delaware Stadium.		Wolf Hall renovations include laboratory improvements.

The current art studio at the corner of North College and Cleveland avenues will be replaced by a new structure at the opposite end of the Hollingsworth Parking Lot.

Paving work is under way on the north end of the Mall.

Summertime is prime time for construction projects. UD construction and maintenance staff and outside contractors make the most of the summer to work on major building, renovation and maintenance projects.

"With fewer staff and students on campus in the summer, we are able to take advantage of empty spaces and get a lot of construction and renovation accomplished," Andy Welsh, director of Facilities, Planning and Construction, said. "While not all projects can be completed during the summer, the season allows us to get a lot done in a concentrated amount of time and, hopefully, minimize inconveniences during the school year."

The two major, high visibility projects on the Mall–the DuPont Hall addition and renovation of Wolf Hall–are "right on schedule," according to Welsh.

Work on the DuPont Hall addition began in June 2000 and is about 50 percent completed. The former front of DuPont Hall is being replaced with an addition that consists primarily of laboratory space for the departments of Materials Science, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Electrical Engineering, as well as new departmental and dean's offices.

This summer, work is being done on the mechanical systems, including electrical, plumbing and sprinkler systems. Outside, the roof will be installed, and brick with precast white accent stones will be set. Completion is scheduled for May 2002. To check on the progress of construction at DuPont Hall, visit the webcam site at [www.udel.edu/duPonthall/].

Next door, work on the two-and-a-half-year Wolf Hall project continues, with a scheduled completion date of January 2003.

This three-phase project includes improvements to the laboratory and administrative functions of the building that is home to the departments of Biology and Psychology. Phase I of the renovation, the construction of an approximately 10,000-square-foot, four-level addition to the south central portion of the building, has just been completed.

This summer, Phase II is under way, involving interior work in the 1963 portion of the building, the area at the rear of the building, and in the first floor theatre area.

Life-safety systems, new mechanical, electrical, plumbing and voice/data systems will be installed. Two elevators will be added along with other accessibility improvements.

The art studios, located at the corner of Cleveland and North College avenues, will have a new home in a two-story art studio building, to be constructed next to the Housing Operations Center on the southwest corner of the Hollingsworth Parking Lot. Construction will begin in August on the new building, to include studio and support spaces for the sculpture, ceramics and printmaking programs. The project is scheduled to be completed by June 2002. Over next summer, the existing studios will be demolished with replacement parking and new landscaping to take place.

Renovation of Raub Hall, former site of the Career Services Center at Main Street and North College Avenue, will begin in July and continue through June 2002. A new office layout, reception and other support spaces will be constructed to house the Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management. The renovation of the early 19th century structure will include new mechanical, electrical and life-safety systems. There also will be an addition that will house a new elevator, stairway and restrooms.

Renovations continue on Sharp Hall, a residence hall on the Mall, and include new fire alarm and sprinkler systems, a renovated HVAC system, reorganization of lounge layouts and new interior finishes in corridors, lounges, student rooms and bathrooms. The work started in December 2000 and should be completed by August 2001. (See related story on fire alarm and sprinkler project.)

A $1.5 million addition will provide two new growth chamber areas in the Fischer Greenhouse Laboratory. The project will start in August 2001 and be completed in spring 2002.

Following is a partial list of other construction projects under way or beginning in the near future.

• Rebuilding the Smith Hall loading dock (June-August, 2001),
• Furniture replacement on eight floors of Christiana Towers, plus rebuilding the Commons Plaza and power washing the stair towers (June-August 2001),
• Landscaping at Pencader Dining Hall and East Campus (June-August 2001),
• Replacing the Delaware Field House tennis courts (June-December 2001),
• Upgrading electrical system in Lane Hall (June-August 2001),
• Upgrading concession booths and building a new game-day ticket booth under the west stands of Delaware Stadium (June-August 2001),
• Renovating of rooms in Pearson Hall (July-October 2001) and
• Expanding student recreational space with a roller hockey rink, basketball courts and volleyball area behind Brown and Sypherd residence halls, on the north side of Delaware Avenue (June-October 2001).

–Ed Okonowicz\

Increased fire safety systems are being added to residence halls

This year, new sprinkler and fire alarm systems are being installed in several campus buildings.

The approximately $9 million, multiyear project started in May at the Dickinson complex, which is receiving both new sprinkler and fire alarm systems. In addition, this summer new sprinklers will be installed in the Conover Apartments, and in the Virden Center in Lewes in the fall.

These safety measures augment the systems currently in place in UD facilities. Currently, all residence halls and dining halls meet or exceed local and state fire regulation codes. Nearly 50 percent of the residence halls will have sprinklers by this fall, including the Christiana Towers, and all the Mall residence halls that have recently been renovated. It is anticipated that all residence halls will have sprinkler systems installed by the fall of 2003.

Photos by Kathy Flickinger