Construction at Shippensburg University will be continuing through the upcoming academic year despite trustees’ decision to postpone the addition of three new residence halls.
Renovations to SU’s residence halls have been ongoing for the past several years and were scheduled for completion through three phases. Over the span of the last four years, nearly all of the residence halls on the SU campus have been torn down and rebuilt.
As the first phase of construction was wrapping up in December 2012, design contracts were already being approved for its third phase, slated for completion in August 2015. However, according to SU associate vice president for facilities Lance Bryson, these plans were postponed following a nationwide decline in university enrollment.
Each phase of the residence hall project costs the university approximately 60 to 70 million dollars to complete. Bryson said without enough students to fill beds, SU does not generate enough revenue to pay back the loans to build additional halls.
“The expectation is it probably won’t be rejuvenated until student population rises,” Bryson said.
Postponing plans for a third phase will allow SU to optimize planning for future residence halls, Bryson said.
Phase one of the project included demolishing and rebuilding Seavers and Harley halls. McCune, Kieffer, Nagule and Lackhove halls were completed two years later in July 2014.
If plans for a third phase are ever carried out, McLean and Mowrey halls will be demolished to make room for three new suite-style residence halls. These buildings were intended to be built in the area where Mowrey Hall currently resides; this section of the SU campus will remain reserved for the possibility of phase three occurring in the future.
In addition, SU is planning to pave and extend the rails to trail past the Cora I. Grove Spiritual Center up to Fogelsanger Road by the spring of next year. Throughout the 2016–17 academic year, the facilities department has been working around SU to rebuild storm inlets, place a new sidewalk through the Grove quad and install new disability signage around campus to comply with standards set by the American Disabilities Act.
The department will also be replacing all of the old electrical wires under the ground of the SU campus beginning in May 2017. More information about this project will be released to students closer to its scheduled start date.
The Slate welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.