Cody Powell, associate vice president for facilities planning and operations, told the Oxford Free Press the university created a long-range housing master plan over a decade ago which analyzed its residence hall structures to determine whether renovations were needed.
As part of the plan, Powell said the university determined it would not make sense financially to renovate Wells Hall. The building was used sporadically throughout the COVID-19 pandemic for quarantining students but has been otherwise out of commission as a residence hall since around 2019.
Williams Hall, Powell said, was originally built to support the university’s radio program, which has changed over the years. He said the building overall is inefficient and also isn’t worth renovations.
“It’s a pretty specific building for a particular purpose that would make it very costly to renovate. And the quality of the construction is such that we wouldn’t get a lot of value out of that building,” Powell said.
Currently, Williams Hall is being occupied by the Department of Media, Journalism and Film (MFJ), although he said this program would be relocated to Bachelor Hall, which is being renovated. Powell said the university is anticipating renovations to be completed at Bachelor Hall before May 2026 commencement and ready for courses to move in before the fall semester.
Bachelor Hall has also been out of commission for about a year during construction, which Powell said has included “substantial modifications,” as well as deferred maintenance projects. When MJF moves to Bachelor Hall, the English Language Program, American Culture and English, Humanities Center and the Ohio Writing Project will be joining them.
Powell said of Joyner House, “It’s a small, residential property, and we have several of those on campus that were originally some form of residence that aren’t in great shape now and are not ADA (American Disabilities Act) accessible. They have a lot of deferred maintenance and don’t function well, really.”
Up to this point, Powell said Joyner House has been used as an office building.
When asked for estimates of how much it would cost to repair or remodel the buildings, Powell said, “We evaluate each building and consider questions that may include how the building is to be used, the quality of the original construction, the condition of the building, historical significance, cost per square foot anticipated for the type of proposed use, size and future staffing models when determining if we should renovate a building.”
Powell added he doesn’t “need” to develop an estimate for renovating some of the facilities and said, “The type of work required to achieve the living or work experience we want to offer leaves us with a combination of expensive construction only to have a finished product that is considered substandard for the outcomes we expect.”
For example, he said Joyner House, having been built as a residential property, doesn’t have the amenities needed to function as an administrative office, and spending university funds to restore it and make it ADA accessible, sustainable and efficient is “not a good use” of funds.
Powell said the university has estimated the demolitions, including surrounding utility projects and prepping the area for future uses will cost around $7 million, although as of last week, it was still waiting on the design from the RFQ for an official estimate.
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