Construction on campus now feels like a new normal to residents. With some residence halls being shut down and others going under construction, residents feel as if there is always something being worked on here on campus.
Over the summer, Village Quads 1 and 3 underwent construction fixing up the exterior of the residence buildings. They repaired the stairs, replaced the outdoor lights to make it safer for residents and placed security cameras in every building of the quad.
Upon arrival to campus, residents were greeted by yet more construction but this time in Quad 2 of the Village. Construction on the Quad began in August before school officially started and is expected to finish sometime in November.
Dr. Michael Yankovich, Vice President for Operational & Administrative Integration, worked alongside the project and said in an interview with The Ramapo News, “Given the nature of the construction work and commensurate safety requirements, we have to shut down an entire quad when doing any work within a quad.” He says, “We chose to start Quad 2 last because we did not want to risk having both Quad 2 and Quad 3 shut down during the fall semester.”
Even though the construction will end in November, Yankovich says that students will not be allowed to live in the buildings until after the winter holiday break. The buildings must be inspected by the State of New Jersey, and then cleaned and fixed up by facilities before allowing residents to move in.
Along with the exterior of the buildings, Yankovich says that they plan to repave and redo all the sidewalks and the pavement in the Village. He says, “This will include replacement of concrete sidewalks and curbing where needed. We will also repave the Village parking lot.”
While it may seem that the construction process only took a few months to complete, Yankovich says there is a lot that needs to be done to break ground on a project like this. The process went through several months of designing the plans, sending them to the state, issuing a proposal and then receiving a contract in order to begin. “For actual demolition of the old steps and installation of the new steps, it took about six months between last summer and this summer to complete Quads 1 and 3,” Yankovich said.
Through the months of planning and construction, the Village is slowly opening up and inviting students back into living on campus. Soon enough all three quads will be open and in service for residents to live in during the winter semester.
“We are all very excited for the project to be completed. The new stairs and new lighting look great, and I think everyone will be happy with repaved walkways,” Yankovich stated.
For more information on Village housing please contact reslife@ramapo.edu or village@ramapo.edu
rbleich@ramapo.edu
Featured photo by Jordyn Baham, Ramapo News
