Reviewing the recent surge in campus construction, some Lancers may wonder what's next.
Last year saw the debut of two new residence halls and entering this year, students are watching the ongoing creation of the Brock Student Success Center and the Upchurch University Center - set to open in spring 2018 and fall 2019.
Over the summer, Longwood announced they will start another project: the renovation of two buildings that have been campus staples since the 1960’s.
Longwood University announced they would renovated campus' two high-rise dorm halls by 2020 over the summer and released graphic renderings of the remodeled Curry and Frazer Halls.
Say goodbye to the cell block rooms. Adios, moldy ceiling tiles and unsanitary shower floors.
According to a press release from Longwood University, the renovation will cost $30 million for each residence hall, totaling $60 million.
Starting with Frazer, each building will be stripped down and renovated inside and out.
The start date for construction on Frazer is set for May 2018 and will continue through the 2018-19 academic year.
“(Frazer will be) open all this year, until the last students leave the building. But very quickly after that, the contractor will be going in to work this summer,” said Longwood Director of Housing Jean Wilwohl. The residence hall will reopen in fall 2019.
Curry will begin renovations soon after Frazer reopens and will take approximately one academic year as well, said Wilwohl.
In exchange for the disruption, Frazer and Curry will be subject to many much-needed updates.
More lounges will be built in the buildings on all of the floors. In addition to these communal spaces, better equipped kitchen areas will be available for students to utilize.
Renovation of Frazer Hall is set to begin in May 2018 and be completed by fall 2019 before the university begins to remodel Curry Hall as well.
Another big change will be the addition of student rooms on the first floor of the residence halls.
The Office of Residential and Commuter Life plans to advertise the information about the renovations this year when students are registering for housing in late October and early November.
“At that time we will be letting students know about some of (the) changes that will be happening because of Frazer Hall going offline," Wilwohl said.
In part, the addition of Sharp and Register Hall, both of which house 112 students each, was in preparation for Frazer's renovation.
However, further rooming changes will be necessary to accommodate for the loss of all 396 bed spaces in Frazer. Some changes include converting several dorms in Arc and Curry Halls into triple occupancy rooms.
Also, previously unused transitional rooms on campus may be harnessed.
Wilwohl added that there is a possibility that the “C” bedrooms in Longwood Village could be converted back to double occupancy rooms as well, if further space is needed.
Wilwohl suggested the inability to use Frazer Hall may ultimately have affect any upperclassmen who planned to live on campus next year.
As Frazer is mainly a freshman residence hall, much of the transitional space will host first year students who are guaranteed on-campus housing.
“There will still be space on main campus for upperclassmen students, but that will obviously decrease a little bit,” Wilwohl said.
However, she added, “One of the things we will be advertising to students is that the majority of the upperclassmen spaces will be in the apartment communities.”
Residence halls South Ruffner and Stubbs will continue to exclusively house upperclassmen as they have done in the past.
Renovation of Frazer Hall is set to begin in May 2018 and be completed by fall 2019 before the university begins to remodel Curry Hall as well.
Renovation of Frazer Hall is set to begin in May 2018 and be completed by fall 2019 before the university begins to remodel Curry Hall as well.
Longwood University announced they would renovated campus' two high-rise dorm halls by 2020 over the summer and released graphic renderings of the remodeled Curry and Frazer Halls.
Longwood University announced they would renovated campus' two high-rise dorm halls by 2020 over the summer and released graphic renderings of the remodeled Curry and Frazer Halls.
