Wolman Hall to undergo dual floor renovation

The Wolman Renovation Project is slated to begin by the end of next week, according to Senior Director of Housing and Dining Services Carol Mohr.

Scheduled to be completed by mid-February, the 16-week project will be aimed at renovating the lobby and terrace levels of Wolman Hall and introducing features such as a 40-person capacity movie theater and a common kitchen.

"We're so excited to transform the space," Mohr said. "It's going to make it really worthwhile."

New additions planned for the first floor include a common kitchen, a multi-purpose room, a student meeting room and a student lounge; the terrace level will include an exercise room, a game room, a computer room and a study space.

"[I'm] excited, because there's not that much to do here," Brian Choi, a freshman Wolman resident, said.

Although the project was first conceived three years ago, the capital for it could not be allocated at the time because of economic and budget constraints.

"It was a project that we had intended to do, but it had not been scheduled," Mohr said.

However, recent contributions from the Hopkins Parents Fund, a fund to support student life programs raised by donations from current and former Hopkins parents and grandparents, allowed for the launch of the renovation project.

"The Wolman renovations will benefit all students by providing additional student common space on the Charles Village side of campus," Carol Lorten, Director of Parents Programs, said.

"Student meeting and common space seems to be at a premium on campus, so this additional space for all undergrads — not only the residents of Wolman — will have a direct impact on providing that much needed space for students to comfortably gather, to study, to watch films and to just hang out with friends."

The student body has mixed feelings about the changes.

"I'm excited for the renovations and what it means for future students," Kate Lynch, a freshman who lives in Wolman, said. "But I can't help but feel annoyed... [it's] more publicity than functionality... But campus is always changing and it's just my part to play."

Once construction begins, Wolman residents may expect a number of disturbances including construction noise and obstructed entrances into Wolman.

"It's cumbersome for us living here," Freshman Justine Underhill, who currently lives in Wolman, said.

However, efforts have been made by the Office of Housing and Dining to reduce the disruption to students.

Construction in the front lobby that would interfere with entrance into Wolman is scheduled to occur between Dec. 18 and Jan. 8 — during Winter Break.

However, should students need access to Wolman Hall during those times, the emergency exits will be utilized to allow entrance and egress.

"When we do so we would have security stationed there," Mohr said.

On a day-to-day scale, construction has been scheduled to start at 9am at the earliest.

Additionally, a Facebook page and Twitter feed have been created for the project to notify students when noisy construction will occur. Most has been scheduled for daytime hours.

"We've also asked the contractors to give a schedule that looks at when the noisy periods are so students know what point in the project that there's going to be a lot of noise," Mohr said.

Nolan's will also open at 9 a.m. during construction to offer students another location to escape the construction noise.

Mohr explained that due to the conversion of a previous dining facility into Charles Street Market there was much undeveloped space on the terrace level of Wolman Hall.

"It's that space that we are using for this project," Mohr said.

When the Office of Housing and Dining learned of the funding from Hopkins Parents Fund, the project plans were updated based on input from residential life; updates included a common kitchen and a movie theater.

"The space in Charles Common was very well received by students particular the common kitchen," Mohr said. "[And a] movie theater has been brought up by students in a number of different assessments."

Overall, the University is excited by the possibilities of the Wolman Renovation Project.

"I'm hoping students will be really excited about it," Mohr said. "We're trying to create larger and much nicer spaces where students can relax."