President Mark McCoy announced the beginning of the Housing Master Plan, which involves refreshing, refurbishing, repairing and replacing the university’s residence halls in an email sent to the DePauw community during the summer
“We worked this summer to refresh a portion of the residence halls which included laminate flooring in the large social lounge spaces on the first floors of BR (Bishop Roberts) and Longden,” said Warren Whitesell, associate vice president for Facilities Management, in an email interview.
Whitesell also mentioned the annual summer painting effort and the new laminate flooring in student rooms of Hogate when asked about summer renovations.
Additionally, the Bloomington Street Hall heating system was renovated and newly equipped with air conditioning. Nine new rooms and two shower restrooms were also added on the first floor, “to make this building a quality residence hall for use during future construction,” Whitesell said.
In past years, students have come across issues with Hogate and College Street halls, with the most common complaints being of mold and building deterioration.
As President McCoy’s August 10 email states, “the Housing Master Plan puts Hogate and College Street on the replacement list.”
“Their demolition will be scheduled with the overall project planning defined by the Master Plan,” Whitesell said. “A new dorm is desired to be available for students August 2020.”
In fact, Whitesell said students will have the opportunity to meet with the architects of this new dorm from Mackey Mitchell this week.
Juniors and seniors can meet the architects in Darnall from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. On Thursday, intercept interviews will take place from noon until 1 p.m. in Hoover Hall lobby and the Union Building living room. In the evening, first-year students are free to meet with the architects from 6 to 7 p.m. in Darnall, and finally sophomore students in Daseke from 7 until 8 p.m.
As students go through their years at DePauw, they will likely continue to see the campus being updated and renovated with the anticipated new dorm and library renovations on the horizon.