College Hall facelift forces relocations

Budget Analyst Pat Christianson has found there are some perks to having her office uprooted and transplanted one and a half blocks away to a building that her fellow workers term "a hole in the wall." "You know the coffee place across the street? They've got great coffee," Christianson said after moving from College Hall to the Law School dormitories. Like many others in the Budget Office, Christianson has had to move her computer, file cabinets and pictures to the Sansom Street dormitories while College Hall undergoes extensive renovations. College Hall, built in the 1870s, entered its first phase of renovations in May. Workers are repairing the serpentine stone on the outside and are fortifying the inside walls, starting with the southeastern corner of the building. The entire project is expected to take between four and five years, according to Vice President for Facilities Management Arthur Gravina. Gravina said last week that the construction currently underway will cost approximately $3 million and that the entire project, funded through the University's deferred maintenance program, will total $14 million. The vice president said he expects the first phase to be completed in January or February. Renovations of the next area -- the northeast corner -- are expected to begin at the end of the academic year, according to School of Arts and Sciences Assistant Director for Facilities Management Charles Bronk. But as workers repair the structure, gutters and roof, offices in the corresponding wings will have to relocate to other buildings for several months. The first phase displaced about 25 people, forcing them into the Law School dormitories, which themselves will be demolished in the summer of 1991 for construction of the new Law School library. Gravina said water leaks were the main culprit in the deterioration of College Hall, adding that Logan Hall suffers from similar but more serious problems. He also said the building requires immediate care. "Once [a building] starts to deteriorate, it doesnt go linear," Gravina said. "It goes almost exponentially." The next phase of renovation will be in the corner of the building which includes the Admissions Office, the president's administrative staff offices, and the History and American Civilization departments. Bronk, who is helping to relocate offices, said yesterday that not all the offices would have to leave College Hall, adding that some may be able to move to other spots in the building.

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