BSC Under Construction

The sounds of construction and the clouds of dust fill the air these days. The unending efforts of the school's administration and faculty combined with numerous contracted companies push on as the Bridgewater State College campus transforms into its future self. But in the fuss of starting classes and joining extracurricular groups, it may, at times, be hard to notice all of the things that are going on.

Pope Hall / Scott Hall

Built in the 1950s, the Pope and Scott Halls sit on the West side of Campus where many believed construction projects were not a likely option. Currently housing over 300 students total, BSC had originally planned to use allocated money from the Mass State College Building Authority towards renovations for the two dormitories. Instead, when Pfeufer/Richardson and Associates and Consigli Corporation won the bidding for the job, they included the addition of space for 300 more beds in their plan. Closing the buildings during construction would have removed those 300 plus beds already built from the selection list for students, adding to the already overwhelming difficulty of having enough rooms for students to use. For that reason, students in those dorms are forced to live in active construction zones, even with Pope losing 26 beds to closed rooms due to the build-over of a new floor. The project started this past spring, where crewmen broke the ground to lay the foundation for the additions. Over the summer, work moved inside the existing buildings to lay in new heating systems and remodel the bathrooms that have seen over 50 years of use. Now the sites are undergoing exterior work on the additions so that workers can move inside during the winter to finish off plumbing, drywall and the like. The two buildings will be active construction areas until the summer of 2009, when finishing touches will be put in place to blend together the older and newer areas. The new rooms will be available for selection this coming spring for the room lottery, and the prices for each room will be the same no matter what part of the building they are in.

Miles Hall / DiNardo Hall

Since state laws are pushing for every dorm at all nine state colleges to be completely furnished with effective sprinkler systems, Miles and DiNardo saw some work over the summer to make their systems, along with new fire alarms, a reality. As of the end of the project, the only dorm buildings not completely sprinkled are the student apartments, which are under a different building code that does not require sprinklers, although the upcoming apartment renovations will change that. The new systems required that Miles and DiNardo be fitted with new room numbers so that work closets could have numbers as well. Leftover money was put towards the Miles/DiNardo courtyard, which was always an ongoing idea. "It looked like a trivial pursuit board to me," says Beth Moriarty, the Director of Residence Life and Housing. After kicking up the old dirt and concrete, the courtyard has a more modernized look. "It's kind of nice every time I walk by to see students using the bench and all the seatwalls," Moriarty adds, "It really changed the courtyard into a place where people meet and hang out." The courtyard will be finished pending the addition of plants in the four empty beds that sit at the corners.