Renovations to Ellender Hall will begin in December.
Michael Davis, vice president of Facilities, and other administrators met yesterday to discuss when Ellender will be revamped and how the operation will go about.
According to Davis, the residence halls are less populated in the spring semesters, so the renovation process will only take place during those semesters.
Plans to revamp Ellender Hall have been in the works since resident halls Meade, Long and the old Zeringue and Millet, which were built the same year as Ellender, were knocked down.
“These halls were not equipped to meet students needs due to their community showers,” Davis said. “But we saw a future for Ellender due to its suite room layout.”
In 2008, when Scholars, Zeringue and Millet were built, plans were starting to form to update Ellender.
Davis said, “These kinds of big projects don’t just happen overnight; it takes many years to form a vision and make it happen.”
The project should take three years total and will be broken up into three phases. The first phase will begin this year, starting with the lobby and first floor rooms and the sixth floor as well.
“The lobby front windows and public bathrooms need to be updated to meet regulations,” Davis said.
The windows are single insulated and will be updated to double insulated to sustain hurricane force winds. In the individual rooms, the floors will be redone, walls will be repainted and brick walls will be resealed, along with completely redoing the bathrooms in each suite. Windows in each room will also be double pained to prevent “sweating,” or condensation from the humidity outside.
The second phase will begin the following December, and the fifth floor will be updated along with another floor.
“The goal is to work on two floors per year so that the renovations can be done in a timely fashion,” Davis said.
The third phase with start in December 2016 and will renovate the final floors.
According to Davis, this project will cost $1.2 million the first year, $1.2 million the second year and it is uncertain as to how much the final year will cost.
Capital outlay money does not fund the building or renovation of residence halls, so repair and replacement bonds and the Nicholls State University Facilities Corporation will pay for this operation.
Davis believes that Ellender will be a Nicholls staple for many years to come.
“Ellender will be a nice and accommodating facility that students will want to live in,” Davis said. “We plan on keeping Ellender for a long time.”