The Future Face of Plymouth State

The bridge leading to campus is only the beginning of major renovations to Plymouth and its university. With an increased number of students attending Plymouth State every year, more housing is a must. Many buildings on this campus are over fifty years old, and are in serious need of improvement. Bill Crangle, Vice President of Financial Affairs, informed me last week about many of the things Plymouth will see- including new residence halls and a complete renovation of Mary Lyon. While none of us that currently attend Plymouth State will see the final project, all should be excited by the future of the campus. The better the school looks, the better our degrees will look when we are out in the work force. The university made its first master plan in 1992. At that time, the university looked much different than it does today. This campus was a “park campus,” meaning there were roads where there are walkways now. The front and back of Mary Lyon, the front of Rounds, and all around Memorial was parking and roadways. The library, then much smaller than it is now, had bad carpeting and was much too small for the student population. At that time, it was designed for a population of 1,200, and the school had 3,200 students. Remember Boyd before renovations? Bad air quality inside, and bathrooms that barely worked were the norm. In 1992, when committees went to renovate the master plan, they had many things in mind, including making the “core” of the campus a walking campus. The main reasons for making these changes was to improve a “community” feeling, giving Plymouth an educational feel that went with the area instead of an urban style, as well as improve the safety of the campus. The Hub was renovated in 1994. D&M, which was once a sporting gear factory, was purchased. The library was doubled in size. All of these were based on the 1992 plan. Not everything from that plan was accomplished, and what hasn’t been accomplished yet are now the most important items on the 2002 plan. Lighting has been standardized (although still most of the lighting is directed upwards, giving off the glow that is easily recognizable from I-93), and blue light emergency call boxes have been installed. Both of these were part of the original plan. To get things done, the Board of Trustees must approve building plans, the borrowing of money, and oversee the political plan for borrowing. In the last round of planning, the University of New Hampshire, Keene State, and Plymouth State took their ideas to the board, and Plymouth State’s plan was approved first. This is because Plymouth was ready to begin renovations, and has a good history of building what they say they will build, doing so within the allotted budget and within a reasonable time schedule. In 2002, the Board of Trustees told the University of New Hampshire system that it was time to update the now 10-year-old master plan. Plymouth put together a steering committee, consisting of faculty from a number of disciplines, residential life members, three students from Student Government, and the Plymouth town planner. The group brainstormed what things needed to be done to campus as well as decide who would do the building. 35 companies bid for working on the plan, and the chosen plans were by Perkins Eastman Architects Company, world renowned for campus planning that is currently building in China. This group, because they have been around and seen other areas like ours, understand what will and will not work on our campus. The steering committee gave the contractors academic plans, athletic plans, student service plans, accreditation plans, history of the institution, and access to registrar files. They took two years of classroom usage data and figured how well the facilities and space that we have is used. One of the main things is the irregular scheduling- having classes on Monday and Wednesday only, for example, leaves classrooms empty for half periods, where if all classes were Monday Wednesday and Friday, more rooms could be used. Currently, scheduling is being adjusted for future semesters. The average square footage per student nationally is currently 20 ft, and will soon be 25 feet. Plymouth’s average is 17 feet per student. Many classes have 30 students in a lecture hall, or 30 students in a classroom built for 15. Looking for new building locations was a hard part. The first idea is the “core” of campus. Building everything suggested in the area that the campus takes up now would make the campus too condensed. Second idea is North Campus, which is located in Langdon Park. Third idea is Holderness campus, adding residence halls to where the PE and physical plant is now. The problem with this area is that it is in a flood way, and building here is illegal, as well as stupid. Currently, the campus is planning to add an academic building where Holmes House is right now. Also, the PE center will be renovated, something that is many years away, as the costs are great. There will be a bigger pool which can also be used for the community, and adding an ice rink, as Men and Women’s varsity hockey has no close place to practice. A bonus to this is that the down time can be sold to others in the community. There are plans to buy out the houses on North River Road to add a park and athletic fields. North River Road is in the floodway, so fields instead of houses only makes sense. This week, the final plan is going to the Board of Trustees to be looked at one last time before approval. After approval, the next step is to put the plans into action. The committee requires that the campus has new beds for students by 2006. Architects and builders still need to be hired. There are currently wetland areas in Langdon Park that cannot be built on. The University already owns Langdon Park, and there aren’t many residents in the area, so controversy isn’t expected to arise. Ira Fink, nationwide campus designer has been hired, and the committee discussed many things with him, including smaller issues, like the number of outlets the average student would need. He came to Plymouth knowing what students want, and what other schools are building. There are a few designs for rooms. There is a one bedroom, two bedroom hotel style, and four bedroom suit. The committee decided they don’t want more than two students in a room, and want to keep the number of singles to a minimum, as they are expensive to build and support. The committee also wants these new rooms to each have a full bath, and the four bedroom suites would have a common lounge area. Each room will have a window, the sink will be in the room itself, and the bath will be in the entry way, with wardrobes across from it. No high rises like Smith and Grafton, and no more than 150 students per building. The planners came back with two building connected by a lounge with a coffee and juice bar, as well as an exercise area, something highly recommended by students who were surveyed, and a computer lab. After the floor plan was designed, then the building could be designed. Many ideas were rejected, such as a concrete building which had more of a “prison” feel than brick building would. Access to the building would be reached from Tobey road, and for now, there is parking for about 500 people. More parking ideas are still needed. There will be an open front lawn, but the woods will be close, allowing students to take advantage of the walking trails. The project is scheduled to begin next Spring. The new building will be home to sophomores and older. After the new residence hall is complete, Mary Lyon will be shut down for a year to be completely re-worked. Mary Lyon was built in 1902, and obviously, renovations are desperately needed. “Virtually everything will be replaced” Crangle said. No more student apartments are planned. The apartments that are currently here were cheap to build, but due to the wood structure, they are very costly to update, and a million dollar renovation was already done in the mid-1980’s. One challenge will be getting kids living off campus to live on campus. There is pressure from the community to have more students on campus. 15 years ago, a goal was set to have 62% of students living on campus. Currently, 52% live in residence halls and student apartments. There are also plans, unmentioned by Crangle, to turn Rounds into an administrative building, expand the HUB to President Wharton’s residence by way of an above ground tunnel, and put a residence hall or academic building where Holmes House currently resides. Many students express sadness over the changes that will be occurring on campus. Some that come here like how close buildings are to one another, and feel that a building in Langdon Park will divide the unity of the campus. However, when you consider how spread out places like the University of New Hampshire or Boston College is, the 10 minute walk seems like nothing. Whatever your opinion is on the renovations, be sure to express your feelings, as the committees need the feedback of students and faculty alike to know that they are on the right track. For more information on the changes Plymouth State will be facing, go to http://www.plymouth.edu/finman/mplan/northcampus/north0904.htm.