Delays plague Jones South renovations
A detached sink sits in Jones South during ongoing renovations. Work began over the summer and lasted through O-Week into the beginning of the school year due to delays caused in part by problems with piping.
After delays in Jones College construction, which was initially scheduled to finish before Orientation Week, Rice University Housing and Dining looks to finish basement and kitchen construction in the South section, according to H&D Associate Vice President Mark Ditman and Facilities, Engineering and Planning Manager of Communications Susann Glenn.
According to FE&P Senior Project Manager Anzilla Gilmore, the renovations included the addition of a first floor suite and study spaces, larger lobby spaces, upgrading restrooms, as well as various smaller fixtures.
Ditman and Glenn said the delays were in part due to new piping, water fixtures and redoing the bathrooms.
“We ran into a few of those hiccups along the way,” Glenn said. “The contractor recovered the best way that they could. It was truly a heroic effort the night before O-Week move-in. We had people on site until 5:30 a.m. It was incredible. Obviously that’s not an ideal situation, but the good news is we learned lessons.”
According to Gilmore, the cumulation of decay in Jones’ buildings resulted in the delays, which were resolved by August 23, the move-in day for all Rice students.
“The major factor that contributed to delays to the project was a general underestimation of the complexity of the renovation of a 57-year-old building,” Gilmore said. “Over the years, the building (particularly the restrooms) has suffered a lot of wear and tear, [whose] extents were not completely apparent until we started demolition. Once the issues were uncovered, additional design time had to be taken to properly address the best way to put the restrooms back together.”
The remaining renovations include those related to the kitchen and basement, which had a lower priority than students’ rooms, according to Ditman.
“The hall lobbies’ kitchenettes are being removed,” Ditman said. “Those have been consolidated into a larger room for studying and the remnant of the space will be more suitable for social things.”
Member of the Jones Renovation committee Mitch Torczon was not pleased the renovations were still in place during O-Week but praised Gilmore’s work in finishing up the construction within the week.
“I am disappointed that the renovation was not done before O-Week and that there is still some major touch up work being done,” Torczon, a Jones junior, said. “That being said, I have been very impressed at how hard Gilmore has been working to get things finished. [H&D] have really done an incredible amount the first week of school.”
Jones sophomore William Fernandez expressed frustration with the delays in construction, that displaced all new students in South section to North section for O-Week.
“It would be nice if H&D would finish something on time every once in a while,” Fernandez said.
Jones senior Kyle Denny, however, was overall pleased with the new renovations.
“I like how they color coded the floors — that really helps,” Denny said.
More from The Rice Thresher
NOD permanently canceled, Rice strips away-decades old campus tradition
After 50 years of decadence, Wiess College’s infamous underwear party is no more. Born in the early 1970s after a group of Wiess students poured all their alcohol into a bathtub — creating a brew “so potent it removed the varnish” — Night of Decadence has spent years in the national eye. Allegedly recognized as one of Playboy’s top college parties in the nation, NOD has also been subject to mounting scrutiny over alcohol use and an “explicitly dangerous and sexual atmosphere.” Rice has now permanently canceled the public, Dean of Undergraduates Bridget Gorman and Wiess magister Flavio Cunha announced in a message to campus June 5.
Rice Mutual Aid partners with student organizations to fundraise for Gaza
Rice Mutual Aid launched a fundraising campaign for Gaza on May 13 in partnership with 15 other student organizations at Rice, including Rice Students for Justice in Palestine, Rice Pride, the Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment at Rice and the Rice Muslim Student Association. RMA will direct donations towards American Near East Refugee Aid, a non-governmental organization that provides humanitarian aid and emergency relief in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan. A day after its launch, the campaign raised over $2,000 according to RMA’s Instagram.
UCourt final case rules SA must revert to prior constitution
The University Court has ruled that the Student Association must revert back to the March 6, 2023 constitution after the proposed constitution amendment was found to have been misrepresented on this year’s ballot, University Court chair Beck Hall announced on April 24.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.