PLYMOUTH- As you probably have noted, there have been some serious changes going on regarding campus housing. Renovations are taking place on Mary Lyon Hall while the much-anticipated Langdon Woods housing project continues to near its August 2006 deadline.
The Mary Lyon project is focused on giving the building a complete renovation with a few enhancements; the work is slated for completion sometime next summer. A great deal of work has been done to the grounds of Mary Lyon over the couple of weeks. “With the renovation of Mary Lyon, we will have gone through every on-campus ResLife facility in the past five years and made improvements,” says Frank Cocchiarella, the Director of Residential Life.
Langdon Woods is an entirely new building consisting of about 347 rooms and five stories. The building will have a lobby, fitness area, laundry rooms, bike storage, coffee and food services, a computer cluster and study lounges. The building has a $24 million budget and sits on a nine-acre plot adjacent to Langdon Park and has several natural features like a pond and stream.
“We have been working on improving all the facilities on campus for years now. The main reason is to improve the overall quality of life and to fill the need of more on-campus housing for all classes,” says Cocchiarella. The renovations projects have been several years in the planning.
When asked whether the renovations would affect student tuition, Cocchiarella said, “Tuition is totally separate; housing costs are affected by the projects and many other variables. We have worked and talked with Student Senate in detail about the housing rates for next year.”
“We are pleased with the progress we have made in the last five years with the cooperation and support of Physical Plant, the student body and many others,” said Cocchiarella. The work is being contracted out to ML Pizzagali LW and Architect Cannon Design; the construction manager is Engleberth.