Residence Hall Renovations Reinvigorate Old Facilities

By ROBERT O'BRIEN

Miami University journalism student

Miami University will put two renovated residence halls back into circulation in the fall of 2017: Clawson and Hamilton halls.

The two are currently undergoing renovation and are scheduled to reopen for occupation by the fall semester. The two next dorms to be renovated next academic year will be Scott and Minnich halls.

“The ongoing long-range housing plan at Miami University has been enacting for a few years now and will continue well into the decade of the 2020’s” says Director of Residence Life Jerry Olson. This long-range housing program will continue until every residence hall is either renovated or demolished.

With the renovation, the number of residents in Clawson and Hamilton will go down, said Cody Powell associate vice president of Facilities Planning and Operations. Clawson will now house 121 students and Hamilton will house 181 students.

These residence hall projects are not related to the Armstrong renovation project. The East Wing of Armstrong is anticipated to open late this spring or in the early summer.

Many Miami residence halls were built in the 1940's, 1950's, and 1960's. While the university staff have done their best to keep the buildings safe, functional, and attractive, major repairs and replacements are still necessary. A few years ago, Miami built new residence halls on Western campus to up its capacity so they could house students while existing residence halls are off-line for renovation.

With the first and second-year campus living requirement, Miami still has been overcrowded. In the past few years, the university leased spaces at nearby apartment complexes to accommodate the extra students.

The renovations in Clawson and Hamilton will upgrade the electrical systems, HVAC systems, sprinkle/fire suppression systems, roofing improvements, and give each dorm brand new interior design. The new heating ventilation and air conditioning systems will mean no more bulky air conditioners hanging out of dorm windows.

“Both of these residence halls are quite old and have modernization needs and require normal infrastructure repairs/improvements,” says Powell.

Clawson's improvements will also allow the building to be served by the Geothermal Heating Plant on Western Campus. However, the most significant aspect of renovation will be the addition of more ramps, railings, and larger door and hallway dimensions to make the dorms ADA compliant. ADA compliant dormitories will mean that every entrance to the building will be accessible to all students.

“The renovated dormitories will include a larger amount of smaller renovated bathrooms," says Robert Abowitz, associate director of residence life. "These will reduce traffic and congestion in the bathrooms, resulting in more flexibility for students.” Three to four of these smaller bathrooms will be available to each floor, a single user bathroom will also be offered for transgender students.

Scott and Minnich Halls are scheduled to go off-line for construction in the Summer of 2017-18, and will be closed for the entirety of that academic year.

“We have begun constructing two new residence halls on the north end of campus. One is being built on the site where Withrow Court once stood," says Powell.

The other is being built just north of McKie Baseball Field on the site where the varsity tennis courts were located, Powell says. The Withrow site will house around 270 students and the tennis court site will house nearly 350. Both of these are expected to open for the Fall semester of 2018.