Knocking down “Dirty South” will please some Ohio University students and leave others feeling nostalgic, but school officials say rebuilding much of the campus starts with destroying it.
Beginning in May 2013, OU’s South Green will undergo the first of three phases of a complete reconstruction. The first phase will focus on the infrastructure of future residence halls, which will cost in the range of $95 million to $105 million.
Phase One will be completed in six years, said Christine Sheets, assistant vice president for Capital and Facilities Planning.
The overhaul of the residence halls will include the demolition of all dorms on South Green except for Adams, Mackinnon, Brown, Pickering and Crawford halls. The destroyed residence halls will be replaced by about 2,000 new beds in fewer buildings, which will be built adjacent to the “Front Four” on South Green; a new housing complex where the Wolfe Street Apartments once stood; and a new residence hall in the current Morton Hall parking lot.
Two-thirds of the project will be paid for through debt, and one-third of the project will be financed by OU from cash reserves and maintenance saving, Vice President for Student Affairs Ryan Lombardi said.
To pay back the debt, OU will increase the board fee by 3.5 percent per year during the next 10 years, Lombardi said, amounting to a room-and-board cost increase of almost $1,000 between 2012 and 2022, according to a previous Post article.
Intramural fields will be moved behind new construction on South Green, making them more accessible for students, while parking will be relocated to the perimeter of campus.
South Beach will be transformed into a pedestrian-only “sweep” that will consist of grass and cement walkways to centrally connect East and South greens to Baker University Center and West Green to increase student access to other parts of campus.
“It’s a place to go and see things and be seen,” Sheets said.
New residence halls will incorporate suite-style living, similar to that of Adams Hall, Lombardi said, with study areas, seminar rooms and short hallways where students can mix their academic, athletic and social lives.
“We want to create a place you want to hang out in and study — not some closet with cinder block walls — to hopefully support what you want to do,” Lombardi said, adding that this is intended to be “100-year construction.”
Sheets agreed, reiterating that the long-term planning that has been devoted to the project keeps in mind the best interests of students, their parents and the residential character of the campus.
URS Corp., the architectural firm heading the project, conducted numerous surveys with students and parents to understand their preferences, Sheets said.
Responses to the plan were generally positive, Sheets said; more than 200 students, faculty and staff members attended Tuesday’s open forum in Baker University Center.
“(South Green) definitely needs the updating,” said Dom Armelie, a senior studying secondary education. “I can definitely see the need to reorganizing the green and making it more accessible.”
Others were hesitant about the project because of sentimental reasons, but understood its necessity.
“It’s kind of sad losing the classic South Green,” said Karly Strukamp, a junior studying middle childhood education. “I think it’s positive. It seems kind of unnecessary, but I think the university is making the right moves for the project.”
An information update on the project will be given during the Board of Trustees meeting on Feb. 7 and 8, while OU’s Student Senate will discuss the plan for the second week in a row Wednesday night.
“This will make us more competitive, and I think the financing of it is smart,” Senate President Zach George said. “When students get an initial tour with their parents, housing can be something that sways their opinion … because they’re forced to live here for the first two years (of college). If they’re not up to par … why would you want to live here?”
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