June ushered in the start of several construction projects on campus, including renovations and construction in Alumni Gym, Latham Park, Greek housing and the Colonnades. Work also continues on Alumni Field House to the north of Rhodes Stadium.
Colonnades residence halls
Work is now underway on the university’s three newest residence halls. Scheduled for completion by next summer, Colonnades C, D and E will be LEED certified and include suite and single-bed living conditions, group lounges and study areas. Their locations will mirror the existing Colonnades A and B halls on the north side of the fields behind the Koury Business Center.
Each building will feature space for 94 students.
In addition to the new construction, a geothermal heating and cooling system is under construction for the complex. One hundred and twelve wells, each one 440 feet deep, are being drilled over the summer months.
“Those wells are closed piping systems,” said Neil Bromilow, director of planning, design & construction management. “Via modern science and technology, there are devices called heat exchangers, which will basically make the ground hotter in summer time and colder in winter time.”
The geothermal system and Colonnades renovations will be finished by August 2011. A web cam distributes a live feed accessible from Elon homepage enables viewers to watch construction progress.
Latham Park
Ongoing work at the Latham Park baseball facility will be complete by September.
The outfield will feature a new drainage system identical to that in Rhodes Stadium while the infield will be replaced with FieldTurf. With the addition of FieldTurf, an artificial surface, Phoenix baseball will be able to resume practices and games much sooner following rain and wet conditions.
The improvements are made possible by a group of generous donors led by trustee Dr. Bryan Latham and his wife, Janet, of Miami, who made a $250,000 commitment to fund the work.
“The baseball field renovation is all new grass in the outfield with irrigation and drainage,” Bromilow said. “And the infield becomes synthetic turf as opposed to real grass, which means they can play more year round.”
Greek houses
Scheduled for completion by July 2011, five Greek houses are under construction between the Moseley Center parking lot and the Loy Center. The university is pursuing LEED for Homes Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Because of that certification, the buildings’ features are unique. The houses will have concrete second floors, sprinkler systems, and meeting rooms for 100 people, Bromilow said.
Alumni Gym
Renovations in Alumni Gym, made possible by a gift from trustee Jeanne Robertson and her husband, Jerry, will upgrade Elon’s home for basketball and volleyball, convocations and other large campus events.
The renovations have been divided into two phases, with Phase I now underway and Phase II scheduled for next summer. During Phase I, new theater-style seating with individual armrests will be installed in a letter “U” configuration and the gym floor will be refinished.
Phase II includes renovations in the entire Koury Athletic Center. In recognition of the Robertsons’ gift, the basketball floor in the gym will be named Robertson Court.
Alumni Field House
Construction continues this summer on the 30,000-square-foot Alumni Field House adjoining Rhodes Stadium, which started in late 2009 and is on schedule for completion in December. The facility will hold a meeting room, locker room, conference room, athletic training room and a hydrotherapy area.
Several athletic directors and coaches will relocate from Koury Athletic Center to the Field House once the building opens.
Similar to the Colonnades buildings and the Greek houses, the university is seeking LEED certification for the field house as well.
– Written by Sarah Costello ’11
