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Residence hall renovation plans accelerated on Bloomington campus

For Immediate Release Dec 7, 2018

KOKOMO, Ind. – Today, the Indiana University Board of Trustees approved a proposal to accelerate previously approved plans to renovate Foster and McNutt residence halls, work that will also comprehensively address mold concerns in the buildings.

This action, together with the pending construction of the new North Hall and the ongoing renovation of Teter residence hall, will provide more than 3,000 beds in new or renovated residence halls that will be available to students by the 2020-21 academic year. This represents a more than $170 million investment in new or renovated student housing on the Bloomington campus.

Rendering of a dining addition at the McNutt Central building
Rendering of a dining addition at the McNutt Central building.Rendering courtesy of the Office of the Vice President for Capital Planning and Facilities

Plans to renovate Foster and McNutt halls in 2021-22 and 2023-24 were presented during the Board of Trustees meeting in February 2018 as part of a multiyear plan to update residential housing on the Bloomington campus. The renovation of Foster and McNutt has been moved up to May 2019, the close of the spring semester. Both Foster and McNutt halls will be closed during the 2019-20 academic year and are expected to return to service in the 2020-21 academic year.

The planned renovation includes new room designs and common spaces, new HVAC systems, new piping and air ducts as well as more modern amenities and decor similar to the recently renovated Forest, Read and Wells Quad residence halls on the Bloomington campus.

“We recognize there have been significant concerns regarding mold in Foster and McNutt residence halls during the fall semester. While we have completed remediation work in the two facilities, accelerating the planned renovations of Foster and McNutt enables IU to address underlying HVAC deficiencies of older systems while also comprehensively renovating these facilities,” said Tom Morrison, vice president for capital planning and facilities.

If a student is currently living in Foster and McNutt and has no allergic symptoms or chronic health conditions, he or she may safely remain in the halls for the rest of the current academic year. In any rooms where MoldSCORE™ reports indicated high levels of mold spores, students have already been individually contacted to find alternate housing for the rest of the academic year.

The accelerated renovations of Foster and McNutt are part of a plan to invest a total of $300 million in student housing over the next six years, which includes renovation projects in all residence halls on the Bloomington campus, as well as construction of the new North Hall, which will be completed in 2020. This new residence hall, approved during the February 2018 Board of Trustees meeting, will feature both single- and multiple-occupancy rooms for 700 students. Renovations in Teter Hoffman, Thompson and Wissler will be completed in summer 2019, with those buildings opening to students in August 2019. The three other buildings in Teter (Boisen, Elkin and Rabb) will then begin planned renovations in May 2019.

“IU Bloomington is committed to providing the opportunity for all of our first year students to live on campus,” IU Bloomington Provost and Executive Vice President Lauren Robel said. “The residential campus experience enhances student success and supports close and diverse friendships and lifelong connections to the institution and the state. Mold in Foster and McNutt unfortunately disrupted that unique experience for a number of our students this year, and I am delighted that our students will soon have more options for updated and renovated housing.”

The housing selection process for the 2019-20 academic year is currently under development, with more information becoming available early in 2019.

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