Robinson Hall will fully reopen to the public tomorrow after undergoing more than a year's worth of renovations, according to Assistant Director of Facilities Planning John Wilson.
The building, which houses several student organizations, was never entirely closed to the public -- instead certain sections of the building were closed and the student organizations housed there were temporarily moved.
The renovations were made because the building was not handicapped accessible, there were poor means of egress and the buildings systems -- such as heating and electricity -- were run down, Wilson said.
To make Robinson Hall fully handicapped accessible, an elevator was added to the building, as was an enclosed staircase in the rear to aid in rapid evacuation in the case of a fire, Wilson said.
The renovations were completed nearly on schedule and were very close to being on budget, he said.
Wilson said Facilities Operations and Management had hoped to be done with the renovations by Aug. 1.
When the building reopens tomorrow, renovations will not be completely finished, as there will still be "site work" to be done, Wilson said. This site work consists of working on the sidewalk and the pavement around the building.
Wilson said he is hopeful all work will be finished by the start of Fall term -- but he offered a conservative prediction that the project will be completed shortly after the start of the term.
The newly renovated Robinson Hall will house several organizations, including The Dartmouth, the Student Assembly, the Dartmouth Outing Club and The Aegis.
The Student Assembly and several student publications will have offices on the first floor. In addition, the Dartmouth Outing Club will reoccupy its old offices in the eastern wing of the first floor.
There will also be a 24-hour lounge on the first floor, open to all students, Wilson said.
The offices of The Dartmouth and The Aegis will be on the second floor, and the third floor will continue to be the home of WFRD and WDCR -- the College's student-run FM and AM radio stations, respectively.
Outdoor programs and locker rooms for the skiing team will be in the basement, as will be a Committee on Student Organization-run darkroom. The darkroom will be the only public one on campus, Wilson said.
In addition, there will be two meeting rooms in the basement as well as two fully handicapped-accessible bathrooms.
All the organizations with space in the renovated building have been spending the past few days preparing to move into their offices.
Aegis Assistant Editor in Chief Maggie Geiger '98 said she is glad that the building is almost ready.
"There has been a lot of noise at times and the little loose ends are taking forever to come together, but in the long run I would say that, as an entire staff, we are pretty content with the reconstruction," she said.
