Construction on the Gold Coast residence hall cluster is currently underway in "probably the most ambitious project" the Office of Residential Life has undertaken in one summer, Director of Residential Operations Woody Eckels said.
In addition to modifications to the current fire safety system, renovations such as new furnishing, carpeting and lighting are being accomplished.
The official project, estimated by Eckels to cost "somewhere in the $3 million range," started on June 15, but some work also took place during the Winter and Spring terms. All electrical wiring is being upgraded, and new sprinkler systems are being placed in all three Gold Coast residence halls, Gile, Streeter and Lord.
Thirteen rooms - seven in Lord and six in Streeter - are being knocked out and replaced by internal staircases, which will replace the external fire escapes. In Gile, extensions of the same type of architecture as the building will be built to enclose the outer stairs.
Eckels said the College decided to do the renovations and construction because it is a "smart thing to do and makes the buildings safer."
New carpeting will be placed in all rooms and hallways, there will be new lighting in the hallway, and the plaster on all of the buildings is being repatched and repaired. Some ceilings and all storm windows are being replaced, and the interiors of all three buildings are being repainted.
The common area furnishing are also being refinished and reupholstered, and new furniture is replacing older furnishings in all student rooms.
Eckels said "as much as possible" of the new furnishing will be built from maple harvested from the Dartmouth Grant, a stretch of forest land in the northern New Hampshire and owned by the College.
The project will be funded by the residential operations budget, which comes directly from student rent. The construction crew has run into no problems so far, and the project is expected to be completed "right on schedule" at the end of August, Eckels said.
