Residential Life got the green light Jan. 5 to begin construction on East Laville Hall.
General contractor Frank A. Anzalone has been given a contract deadline of April 5, 2012, and the renovated hall will be ready to house residents for the fall 2012 semester, according to Steve Waller, ResLife director.
The construction cost for the renovations is $12.5 million and will be paid with revenue bonds, Waller said.
The demolition phase of the project is almost complete, Waller said. The gutting of the inside of the building was recently finished, but there is still work to be done on the outside.
This is the first time East Laville is being renovated since it was built in the late 1940s.
“The conditions weren’t poor, just aged,” said Caroline Frugé, former East Laville resident and biological sciences junior.
The window units in East Laville will be upgraded to a central air conditioning system. The window units were a major facilities concern, according to Brent Cockrell, ResLife Coordinator for East Laville, West Laville and Acadian halls.
“They caused an occasional moisture issue,” Cockrell said.
East Laville will be close to a mirror image of the recently renovated West Laville, Waller said.
However, there will be a few differences.
The biggest contrast between the two Lavilles is East Laville has been gutted and completely renovated on the inside, whereas West Laville holds its original infrastructure and received only new doors, shelves, paint and furniture when it was renovated, according to Waller.
“We’re basically just putting [East Laville] back together,” Waller said.
East Laville will feature movable wardrobe closets to increase floor space and flexibility in the rooms. Rooms will also include wood strip vinyl floors made to look like an authentic wood floor, Waller said.
West Laville did not receive the same updates because of budget issues, Waller said.
East Laville construction is scheduled to be completed four months before students move in, while work was still in progress when it was time for students to arrive at West Laville at the beginning of the fall 2010 semester.
In fact, ResLife profited $5,000 per day because of the late construction, according to Waller.
 
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Contact Emily Herrington at [email protected]