Summer Renovations Are Heating Up

Rain or shine, JSC Physical Plant crews as well as outside contractors are working on a number of projects to make the campus work -- and look -- better. More images will be added to this album on the JSC flickr site.

Here is a list of some of the work being done or slated for the summer of 2011, courtesy of Sharron Scott, JSC Dean of Administration.

Bentley Hall Renovation
The fourth and final phase of the Bentley Hall Renovation project begins on May 16.  This final phase includes the removal of the central “convenience” stairs located on the first and second floors of the building, the creation of a seminar room, common areas on two floors, fully renovated and modernized teaching labs, expanded and modernized research labs and additional restrooms on the first floor.  Beginning Monday, May 16 only construction workers and those escorted by our contractor EF Wall will be allowed in the building.  To accommodate this renovation, faculty have relocated research projects to UVM for the summer and we’re using People’s Academy for summer lab courses.  The building will reopen with the fall semester.


VAC Renovation and Addition
Last renovated in 1991, the Visual Arts Center (VAC) has outgrown its existing facilities.  This project remedies that problem by adding 4500 square feet of new space and renovating the remaining 9500 square feet.  Studios will be larger and new features will be added to the building including a black box studio, BFA studio, commons, drawing studio and Art History classroom.  In addition to the new spaces the building’s heating and ventilating systems will be completely overhauled making the space far more pleasant!  Construction begins on May 23 and is expected to end on December 25.  During construction, the Fine Arts program will be relocated to the first floor of McClelland Hall (drawing, painting, photography, printmaking) and to the facility currently used by Laraway (sculpture, ceramics).


Server Room Air Conditioning and Airflow Improvements
Heating, ventilation and cooling improvements are required to keep our network infrastructure safe and sound.  Beginning Wednesday, May 18, the Server Room located in the Library and Learning Center will be receiving a modest renovation.  During this time, LLC 217 (Academic Computer Center) will be closed and students will be redirected to the 24-hour Study Room on the first floor of the LLC.  Two network outages are required to effect this change.  The first is scheduled for Monday, May 16 from 6-9 PM while the second is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, June 4 from 8-11 AM.


College Hill Sidewalk Rerouting
The upper portion of the College Hill sidewalk is quite steep.  Students, faculty and staff find that section uncomfortable to walk in good weather and very slippery during bad weather.  The college has therefore decided to reroute the upper section of the sidewalk to make it less steep by following the line of the road.  A minor change to the sidewalk on the east side of Martinetti will be made to meet the new end point of the College Hill sidewalk.  During construction, walkers will need to either walk on the grass up the hill, or up College Hill.  Depending on availability of our contractor (recent flooding has caused many disruptions in schedules) we anticipate that this project will begin on May 23.


Lower Pond Safety Improvements
The Lower Pond was formed by the creation of a dam.  Periodically this dam needs to be improved to meet safety regulations, and this is one of those years.  On Monday, May 16 the college will begin the process of draining the pond of its water.  We anticipate that this will take about 4-5 days to completely drain.  Once drained, a more thorough inspection will be conducted and final plans will be made to complete the needed improvements.  It is expected that the Lower Pond will be unavailable for approximately two months and we expect it to be ready for use again by the start of the fall semester.

 
Stearns Retaining Wall Repairs/Replacements
The large retaining wall on the south (Arthur) side of Stearns Hall will be replaced this summer.  Test borings will be conducted during the week of May 16 to determine the exact size and condition of the structure with construction to follow approximately 2-3 weeks later.  During construction the college will have access to the sidewalk between Arthur and Stearns and there will be periods of noise while the structure is removed and a new retaining wall installed.


Financial Aid Renovation
Improvements to the Financial Aid Office – including the creation of new reception space and private office for Tim Russo will begin around May 30.  Financial Aid works with students on extremely confidential matters.  With this renovation the department will be better able to maintain the confidentiality of student records and information. 


Martinetti Heat Piping Renovation (Phase I)
Martinetti Hall is the second-oldest campus building and its heating systems are showing their age with “hot spots” and “cold spots” throughout the building in the winter.  This first phase of the project will begin the replacement of pipes serving the buildings with the eventual goal being individual room/zone controls.  Contractors will need to access each room in the building to install piping above the ceilings.  This work should be brief in each location.  Specific dates for this project have not yet been finalized.