Lee Made Anew

Former Residents Former Residents Look on in Envy 

First-year residence halls at St. Lawrence University are one of the main focuses of the university administration as of late. Many former residents of these halls have noted that they wished they had lived there with the latest renovations. If there’s anything that new SLU students have going for them it is certainly their dorms.  

To that end, Lee Residence Hall is currently undergoing a major renovation similar to the renovations on Rebert Residence Hall from the last academic year. Much of the renovations occurring at Lee will mirror that of Rebert. Some of the renovations will include new paint, lighting, sprinkler systems, floors, doors and fire alarms.  

Lee North is currently fully renovated and housing students this semester. The other wings, Lee East and Lee West, will follow the same exact style that Lee North currently has. Those renovations for Lee North were completed over the summer. The project has been managed by the same team that has completed renovations for Rebert and will continue to be the same team for all future renovations. The plan as of right now is to continue to complete renovations on other dorms as long as the 30 million in funding from last year lasts.  

The focus was initially on the first-year dorms as they are one of the first things that prospective students think about when choosing where they will spend their next four years. The next move for renovations would be towards Dean Eaton and Sykes.  

With the focus of these renovations on students, common areas are also another major part of these renovations. Each of the lounges will have wider storefront entrances versus the usual ‘door-sized’ openings. The goal of this would be to provide a more welcoming atmosphere for all students. They will also have large glass panes to further their goal of providing an open atmosphere for all students. The larger common areas will be focused as gathering spaces with TVs, large gathering tables, etc. While the smaller ones will be the ones closer to individual dorm rooms and will be designated as quiet spaces for students to study and gather to work on group projects. The intent of this will be to keep the noise down closer to actual rooms to ensure that students can rest when they need to.  

While the focus will be on students, many of the renovations will still be focused on the integrity and longevity of the buildings themselves. Plumbing and electrical will be one of the main focuses. New plumbing will be put in place all around the building along with new LED lighting throughout. Each of the stairwells will be replaced in each of the wings along with an entirely new ceiling electrical grid and finally hydration stations will also be placed throughout.  

For room-specific renovations, flooring will be replaced, and additional outlets will be added. Each room will have new central light fixtures with dimmer switches to allow students to adjust their room’s light as they see fit. While not specifically related to individual rooms, Lee also will have its fair share of SLU décor all throughout. It was somewhat of a last-minute thought for the addition, but it has certainly added a nice touch of SLU flare to some of the most viewed sections of campus.  

Focusing on the students is central to the life of a university, and SLU is most certainly concentrating on that aspect. Students are the lifeblood of college campuses across the country and SLU is no exception. If students make campuses what they are, then making students happy is central to the effort of the betterment of our campus for all.