Broward Hall turned 59 this year, and as seniors tend to do, it’s getting a facelift.
The residence hall is getting new bathrooms, lounges, windows, electrical systems, fire alarms and sprinkler systems. Interior walls are being repainted, doors replaced and new locks installed.
The upgrades come as part of a roughly four-year renovation program at UF, Sharon Blansett, assistant to the associate vice president for student affairs, wrote in an email.
$10.3 million has been spend on the renovations so far, she said.
Estimated costs for next summer’s improvements total $5.3 million. Summer 2015’s projects will cost the same. Final window replacements in 2016 will cost $680,000.
The renovation funding comes from students’ rent only — no state tax monies, Blansett said.
This is the second year of the Department of Housing and Residence Education master plan’s four-year renovations project, which includes plans to make over campus facilities.
UF Spanish junior Jeffrey Jackson, 20, said he’s glad Broward is getting a “much-needed” makeover. Jackson said he used to visit friends who lived in a triple at Broward, and it wasn’t always pleasant.
“The bathrooms were pretty gross, and the paint was peeling in some spots,” he said. “It felt pretty beat-up.”
Jackson said the campuswide renovations show him students’ money is going to good use.
“I can’t wait to see what all these old buildings will look like once they’re renovated,” he said.
Blansett said all current projects, including Broward’s upgrades, must be finished by early August to accommodate incoming students.
Broward’s renovations have been ongoing since 2006, but this summer marked its turn for a major upgrade.
Broward is being renovated in parts, Blansett said.
This summer is focused on the east and central sections. The southwest and central sections are scheduled for upgrades during Summer 2014, and in 2015, the northwest section will be worked on. Windows are being replaced throughout.
Blansett said the contractors for the projects are chosen through a competitive bid process, and the current contractors, BBI Construction Inc., has worked with UF’s housing department on previous projects.
Former Broward resident Josh Loftin said living there freshman year was a great experience.
But the 20-year-old said the bathroom was often “wrecked,” and his air conditioning unit would routinely break down.
Loftin said he’s happy the housing department decided to renovate the building.
“The people and the community of the place was amazing — you couldn’t ask for more,” he said. “The building itself, though, not so much.”
