The Facilities crew at the University of Hartford has been hard at work this summer making improvements to the campus.

Chris Dupuis, Senior Project Manager, provided information about all of the projects that were completed over the summer.\A lot of improvements were made to the university’s oldest residence halls, Complexes A, B, C and D. The outdated entranceways were “old, ugly, and the aging locking mechanisms required frequent repairs. The replacement ‘storefronts’ provide a more aesthetically pleasing entrance with a better functioning lock and card reader system,” says Dupuis.

“We also hope to replace the storefronts at E and F Complexes in the future,” the Senior Project Manager disclosed.

The lobbies of these four complexes were also given facelifts, including new paint, lighting upgrades, floor tiles repairs and more.

A staircase leading from B Complex to Hawks Nest and Alumni Plaza is now in place. Though the ramp connecting these two areas is gone, the Complexes are accessible from the academic side by the elevator in Commons.

A and B Complex courtyards were renovated this summer as well. Dupuis stated, “Both areas had broken sidewalks, dying trees and large areas of unattractive mulch.” He also mentioned that the 45-year-old water mains in the courtyards had been rupturing recently, requiring large excavations. Renovations this summer included new water mains underground, new sidewalks and new grassed areas.

Dupuis stated that the A and B Complex courtyard renovations were the last of a “multi-year phased approach that started about six years ago” renovating all the Complex courtyards and the area outside of Commons.

Another major facilities project this summer was Konover Great Room. The room frequently used for campus events has been given new lighting, flooring, roof, entrance door, and has been newly painted.

Other renovations include the kitchen of the 1877 Club, which has been supplied with new appliances and a new elevator; Taub Hall in the Hartford Art School which is now to accommodate the Art History Department; and bathrooms on the first and third floors of Hillyer Hall.

Road repairs were completed near B-Lot and the Sports Center, and several areas around campus were paved for the first time, such as the path next to Lincoln Theater.

The projects Facilities completed last spring have been extremely successful in solving the problems they were built to fix. The bridge near Public Safety has succeeded in preventing flooding of university parking lots.

The waterfall between Harry Jack Gray Center and the Hartt School has solved the problems of drainage, trash accumulation and difficulty growing plants. It no longer requires frequent maintenance by Facilities, and it improves the look of the area at the same time.

“They wanted to take an area that was a problem, and turn it into a real benefit for the institution,” said Norman Young, Associate Vice President for Facilities Planning and Management.

The scenic waterfall was a low cost, creative solution to the problem thought of by the Grounds crew. Building the waterfall was “completed entirely by Facilities staff and paid for within the Facilities budget,” notes Dupuis.

Dupuis said that Facilities will wait to complete any more significant projects until there is another break in the academic calendar, but until then the crew will continue to make small improvements to campus.