3:30 p.m., May 21, 2003--Status reports on major ongoing construction projects at the University of Delaware are listed below, based on information supplied by Gina Sinovich, senior project manager in Facilities Planning and Construction. Check back for new photos as these projects progress.

UD/Courtyard by Marriott Hotel

Clayton Hall

Otis Smith Laboratory addition

Computing Center

Pencader Dining Hall

UD/Courtyard by Marriott Hotel
This project is scheduled for completion in late fall. Currently, masonry walls and pre-cast planks are being installed. Watch the construction in progress on the web at [www.udel.edu/hotel].

The four-story hotel will serve as a learning and research facility for students and faculty in the Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management. In addition to 126 rooms, the hotel will feature an indoor pool, exercise room and restaurant. New parking places and landscaping also are planned. The $11.5 million hotel will complement the newly renovated and refurbished Clayton Hall conference center and provide overnight accommodations for those attending conferences, as well as alumni, parents and others visiting the campus. The University and the Shaner Hotel Group formed the Blue Hen Hotel LLC, with UD owning 75 percent and Shaner owning 25 percent of the hotel.

Otis Smith Laboratory addition, Lewes
A 3,000–square-foot addition is being made to the existing Otis Smith Laboratory in Lewes. The addition will house the wet labs that are now spread throughout the existing building. (The wet labs contain tanks of salt water used in research by marine studies faculty.) The addition also includes an area for graduate students, a common equipment room and an environmental chamber, as well as new mechanical space that will serve the entire building. The project is slated for completion in May.

Computing Center renovation
UD’s Computing Center at 192 South Chapel St. has undergone extensive renovation. The building’s interior has been reconfigured to better use space that had been recovered over time because of the shrinking size of computing equipment. The IT groups working in the building also will be reorganized to enhance efficiency. New landscape furniture will be provided, and a state-of-the-art ITV studio and conference rooms of varying sizes have been added. The building’s windows and roof also were replaced. Computing Center staff have begun moving back into the building, with all moves to be completed by June 4.

Pencader Dining Hall renovation
Work is in progress in the main dining area. Food service equipment is being replaced, and the dining area will be redecorated with new carpet and furnishings. This part of the renovation will be completed by June 1.

Clayton Hall renovations
The project, including the installation of a new sprinkler and fire alarm, is complete. Two auditoriums, Room 128, with a 500-person capacity, and Room 125, which holds 130 persons, were refurbished with new seating, carpet and ceilings. The restrooms also were renovated.

Residence hall sprinklers
The completion of the final phase of a major, three-phase residence hall sprinkler installation project is scheduled for completion in mid-August, before students return for the fall 2003 semester. Residence hall areas included in the third phase include the Gilbert, Harrington and Russell complexes.

Article by Jerry Rhodes
Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson