New Residence Hall, Energy Upgrades Ahead

Here's big news for on-campus dwellers: A new residence hall will soon be under way at the corner of Willow Street and Newcomb Place. The downtown health sciences campus also will see a flurry of construction with energy-saving upgrades to several buildings in the coming year.

Tony Lorino, senior vice president for operations and chief financial officer, says that the new construction and renovations will be financed with $60 million in tax-exempt bonds.

The university expects to issue $30 million in bonds later this month, says Lorino. The second $30 million in bonds will be issued in January, when construction will begin on the downtown project.

Hanbury Evans Wright & Vlattas is the architecture firm for the new residence hall.

Jane Wright and Richard Rusinak are principals in the firm who have led the design team for the 267-bed multistoried facility. It will accommodate students as well as a professor-in-residence, who will live on the premises with his or her family.

The Lallage Feazel Wall Residential College, which opened in 2005, also features a faculty residence. The new residence hall, which is not yet named, has an estimated total project cost of $27 million, says Lorino. It will be built in accordance with the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design's (LEED) green buildings rating system. Construction is scheduled to conclude by July 2011.

Downtown, a new energy management system, designed to help with monitoring and controlling energy use, will be installed at the School of Medicine and other buildings. Improvements in lighting, HVAC, building automation, plumbing, fire and life-safety systems are part of the plans.

"These items are designed to improve the energy efficiency of the buildings and enable the medical center to increase research capacity," says Lorino.

Upgrades will be made to the Deming Pavilion, the Tidewater Building and the J.Bennett Johnston Building.