Bell Hall in line for complete renovation

By fall semester of 2006, the projected $8 million complete renovation of Bell Hall should be approaching completion.

Bell Hall will be closed and surrounded by a construction fence for approximately one year. The project is scheduled to begin in May of 2005 and should be equipped for student occupancy by the new school year in 2006.

“I don’t think there’s any question that the project will be completed in time,”Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Paul Jahr said.

As defined by the state of Georgia, any building that is over 50 years old is considered historic. Bell Hall certainly meets this criterion, with a construction date of 1928.

Although the historic status of Bell Hall will impose limits on the project, faculty will continue to work closely with historical preservation experts in order to maintain the value of the building.

Jahr said the main purpose of the project is to update the building for the residents. Emphasis will be placed on updating electrical systems, furniture and public spaces.

“There’s not been anything [any renovations] as significant as this in a long time,” said Jahr.

There have been ongoing renovations on the building; however the most recent “significant” renovation was individual window air-conditioning units six years ago. At that time, Bell was only the third residence hall on campus to implement an air-conditioning system.

For freshman Tyler Johnson, Bell Hall has a special meaning. His grandmother was a resident there in the late 1930s; now so is he.

“I think it should be renovated, but it’s one of the signature buildings on campus,” said Johnson. “The historical value is important; it needs to be modernized, but not look like a completely new building.”

Jahr expects the new Napier to be completed in time to compensate for the loss of living space throughout Bell’s renovation next year. However, Napier will fall short of temporarily replacing Bell by 13 beds.

Terrell Hall will remain open during the renovation of Bell to accommodate students. Terrell will permanently cease to be a residence hall after Bell’s renovation is complete.

“Terrell was never intended to be a permanent residence hall. It was too cost prohibitive to renovate to bring it to the status of other residence halls,” said Jahr.

According to Jahr, the rebuilding and renovating that is currently in progress is a part of a goal that was set by former Georgia College & State University President Rosemary DePaolo.

As part of the mission change to a liberal arts school, DePaolo and other faculty believed that obtaining a resident-based university was an important goal. Faculty members are currently working towards attaining 40 percent of the student population as on-campus residents.

Recent budget cuts will not affect Bell’s construction because the funds for construction are not controlled by the state.

According to Jahr, when DePaolo announced the need for more on-campus housing, faculty felt that private construction companies gaining control was unacceptable. To fund the project, a legal entity called the GC&SU Properties LLC 3 was established. This made it possible for the school to borrow money through bonds.

Money used by these bonds will total $143 million when construction is complete.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 8 2004. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry