Two dorms will join the wave of renovations sweeping across campus. Waterman and Niedfeldt residences are set to get various features renovated over the course of the summer. These renovations follow a series of updates to several other dormitories.
There is a loose schedule the college keeps for dorm renovations, according to Chief Administrative Officer Richard Péwé.
“We have a schedule which is used as a planning tool,” he said. “We budget accordingly, but adjustments get made. Sometimes another immediate need will require waiting another year for something else on the schedule.”
Various aspects of dorm renovations run on a timeline. Every three years, the interiors get painted. From then on, the possible renovations are reviewed at the 10,- 15-, 30-, and 40-year marks. The renovations get more detailed and intense each time.
“Last summer we gave Whitley the 30-year treatment, and this summer we are going to do the same for Niedfeldt,” Péwé said in an email. “Waterman was on the schedule for the summer of 2019, but we moved it up after consulting with Superintendent of Buildings and Utilities Dave Billington and the deans.”
Waterman will be renovated by the college itself, but an outside contractor will be hired to complete the renovations for Niedfeldt, according to Péwé.
“Typically projects that take a few months or more will go to an outside contractor,” he said in an email. “We get several competitive bids when we go to outside contractors. We balance the scope, cost, and time involved.”
Waterman Head Resident Assistant Chloe Kookogey, a junior, has kept in contact with Dean of Women Diane Philipp and Associate Dean of Women Rebekah Dell about concerns with the dorm. In addition to being the head RA, Kookogey also acts as the student house director, so she has the responsibility to bringing maintenance concerns to the deans and the maintenance office.
“I’ve brought different things to light and raised issues with things that are broken in the house,” she said. “I communicated that to Miss Dell and Dean Philipp. They’ve had it in the back of their minds for a while, so I don’t think this is anything brand new, but it’s nice to see the ball finally rolling to get these renovations in place.”
Kookogey says the dorm renovations will be a help to Waterman’s community.
“The renovations can’t help, but bring Waterman closer,” she said. “It allows Waterman to retain all of the charm that it has of a small house. The number of residents will not change; it won’t be expanding. But several issues that have come up over the years will finally be attended to.”
This summer, Waterman will get new paint, flooring, and kitchen cupboards, as well as remodeled bathrooms, according to Kookogey.
“The bathrooms have been the primary concern,” she said. “It will be so much more convenient to not deal with showers that are perpetually ice cold. All of these things will make living in Waterman a lot more convenient.”
Niedfeldt will be getting similar renovations between semesters, including new carpets. Head Resident Assistant junior Alexander Green said most of the renovations will be in the rooms as opposed to the lobby. Associate Dean of Men Jeffery “Chief” Rogers informed him of the dorm renovations, which will be a “face-lift,” according to Green.
“It can often be a deterrent to be in the dorm just because of how it looks,” he said. “I lived in Simpson freshman year, so it was nice to have a dorm that was new. I felt really privileged to be in there. The renovation is going to be really nice for the freshmen coming in, but also for people who don’t know what a new dorm is like. They will be able to have new things.”
