WPI, having spent more than $3 million on the restoration and refurbishing of Riley Hall, has effectively made it the most attractive and comfortable in campus accommodation. The restoration process, which got under way back in May as the students were leaving for the summer holidays, included removal of all doors, windows, roof tiles, carpeting and furniture. By the time the students were let back in to their dorm rooms this August an elevator had been added the roof had been completely re-done and new windows, doors, and rest rooms put into the place of the previous ones. All the rooms and offices in the building were painted, and were refurbished with new carpeting and furniture.
The West Street conversion, which is timed for completion before Christmas and hopefully by the second week of October, is tagged at more than $800,000. About half of the money for the West Street project has already been donated by the Class of 1956 on the occasion of their 40th reunion, while the rest of the rest of the cost will be paid for by a bequest from Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Hansen, Class of 1926.
Although some controversy arose over the paving of West Street, it will not be left as it is, with a coat of asphalt. Within the next few weeks the walkway will be laid with bricks, lit by night lamps and surrounded by trees and grass. The central plaza will consist of a fountain bordered by granite boulders. Pathways leading away from the walkway and to the various buildings have already been completed.
The Salisbury Labs projects have been tagged at around $2 million, half of which has been paid for by a donation from the National Science Foundation. When completed, the work in Salisbury Labs will consist of a green house and new bio-chemistry laboratories. The new labs should be ready for use by the end of November or beginning of December.
In June a new, 1600 square foot, quarter million dollar, bio-chemistry lab was constructed in the basement of Goddard Hall. This lab was designed and constructed by Jordan O'Connor and Matt Colangelo, who are both WPI graduates.
During the months from May to August the top two floors of the Washburn Laboratories saw a facelift. The faculty and graduate offices were painted and fitted with new carpeting. New carpeting was also placed in Boynton Hall during the summer.
Holes in the Higgins House roof were fixed by August and the roof of Alden Hall was replaced last May. Alden Hall also experienced some general masonry repairs both on the interior and exterior. Now the school is trying to devise a scheme to fix the stairs leading to West Street next year.
A new CAD (Computer Aided Design) multimedia lab called CECIL Lab has been added to Kaven Hall. The new $160,000 lab has 90 modern workstations, a video projector, an air conditioning system and a temperature control. Other work in Kaven Hall included the refurbishing of Newell Hall 116 with new seating and air-conditioning. The Concrete Lab was cleaned and re-painted. The entrance to Kaven Hall on the first floor has also been redone with a new carpet, and the adjoining lounge has been remodeled. The lounge has a new ceiling and the linoleum flooring has been scrapped in favor of a fitted carpet. Plant services is now trying to place the lettering "Kaven Hall Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering" over the entrance of the building.
An innovative library storage system has been placed in the basement of Founders Hall. The new storage system will replace the system Gordon Library had in there before and will effectively double the storage capacity.
WPI's sports facilities have also seen some renovations. The roof in Harrington Auditorium has been fixed and the gymnasium floor has been sanded and re-polished. The windows of Alumni Gym are currently being painted, and during the summer the main entrance to the gym was painted with a new color design.
The summer also saw the remodeling of The Grille. The new Grille was designed, funded and implemented entirely by DAKA. Leo's Deli, BurgerKing and World's Fair are the new additions to DAKA's restaurants at in the Wedge.
Founders Hall was made more accessable to handicapped students. Electronic lock and door operators to the rear doors of Founders Hall were installed. WPI also had to change the curbing leading down Boynton Street to the north end of Kaven Hall to make it wheelchair accessible.
Ongoing projects include the construction of a wall on the corners of Institute Road and West Street, and the ongoing task of placing night lights across campus.
Planning into the future, WPI hopes to renovate the Ellsworth and Fuller Apartment complex in the summer of 1997, Daniels Hall during the summer of 1998 and Morgan Hall in 1999. There are no concrete plans yet for the residential hall renovations. The only other planned construction for the time being is the Student Center. A prospective plan for the project has been designed but the estimated $16 million cost for its construction will take a while to collect.