Work on eight construction projects across campus continues

Work on several construction and renovation projects across campus continues, with finishing timelines ranging from December 2018 to summer 2021, according to University Facilities. 

As of Oct. 3, 2018, the Visual Arts Building, Keller Hall, Heilman Dining Center, Well-Being Center, Queally Athletic Center, Ethics Center in Jepson Hall, Robins Center's Athletic Performance Center and the E. Claiborne Robins Stadium are all undergoing construction and renovations, according to the University Facilities website and Cynthia Price, director of media and public relations. 

Although Keller reopened to students this fall, many areas of the Visual Arts Building are closed for further construction and renovations, according to the University Facilities website.

"Conversion of the Keller Hall reception into critique, production and presentation space continues,” Price wrote in an email statement. "Work [in the Visual Arts Building] includes reconfiguration and improvement of all teaching studios, expansion of outdoor art production space and study spaces for art history, student art production and presentation." 

The Keller basement will be expanded for arts technology, according to University Facilities’ list of current projects. Because of the renovation projects continuing within the Visual Arts Building, part of Keller Road will be closed during the day throughout the spring 2019 semester, according to the website.

Renovations for Keller will be completed by summer 2019, and work within the Visual Arts Building is expected to be finished in July 2019, Price stated. 

A construction team continues to work on the dining hall's roof replacement and is expected to finish in December 2018, Price stated. Carpeting inside the dining hall will be changed during winter break, she stated. 

Preliminary work on the Well-Being Center and the Queally Athletics Center has started, but building construction is scheduled to start in spring 2019 and expected to finish by summer 2021, Price stated.

Price said utility work had already started, including clearing the parking lot. 

The Well-Being Center will house several offices -- Counseling and Psychological Services, Center for Sexual Assault Prevention and Response and the Student Health Center. The center will also include rooms for mindfulness and meditation, a venue for speakers and interactive learning about wellness and a health-food cafe, according to a statement released on April 19, 2018. 

The Queally Athletics Center will be located near the Robins Center. The center will house facilities for sports medicine and nutrition, athletic training rooms with hydrotherapy and academic support areas for student-athletes, according to a statement released on Feb. 28, 2018. 

The center will also include strength and conditioning areas along with a gym, team locker rooms, a Spider Heritage Hall and offices for coaches. 

In Jepson, construction workers are creating an ethics center composed of a classroom, four faculty offices and a conference room in what is now Room 102, according to University Facilities. The project is expected to finish by this fall semester. 

For the Robins Center's Athletic Performance Center, work is expected to conclude in December 2018, Price stated. Some equipment spaces such as the football locker room and the sports medicine area are now open. 

In Robins Stadium, construction work is creating offices for the men's lacrosse team coaches, Price stated. 

First-year Hyewon Hong noticed many of the construction projects. He said the construction work didn’t bother him except for Room 102. 

“I have a psychology class in Jepson, and it’s right next to Room 102,” he said. “The noises are distracting.” 

Contact contributor Sunny Lim at sunny.lim@richmond.edu.