Although the Deady Hall renovation project was originally scheduled to be complete when students hit the books this fall, the maze of scaffolding that currently climbs up the building’s north side won’t come down until after finals week.
Why this is depends on who you ask.
Tim Gribble, president of the project’s contracted company Preferred Construction, said, “The project is 99 percent complete.”
Gribble said that lead paint removal started late, delaying the project.
But the University’s Construction Project Manager George Bleekman said Gribble is incorrect and the project is not actually behind schedule at all.
“We anticipated that we may go into fall term,” Bleekman said. “Restorations are always a little complex.”
He said that nothing specifically set the construction behind schedule and, considering the amount of work that has been done, the renovation has gone very well.
New downspouts are the only piece of the building’s facelift left to be finished, Bleekman said, a minor detail in a five-month complete exterior renovation that has included a new roof, the replacement of damaged wood and the reintroduction of an ornamental series of small columns that support a railing that originally sat atop the buildings roof, but was taken down in 1890’s when it was found to be rotting.
Professor Huaxin Lin, whose office is located in Deady Hall, said that his only concern with the project is that he wished they had fixed the heating system that has not been working properly in his office for years.
The post-finals finish date will ensure that students are not disrupted during exams.
Deady Hall, the University’s first building on campus, celebrated its 130th birthday this October. The building opened its doors in 1876 to 177 elementary, high school and college students. It became a National Historic Landmark in 1977
To preserve the buildings history, the renovation has carefully used materials that “represent that era,” Gribble said.
– Desiree Aflleje