By BENJAMIN KLIEWER, Senior Reporter
South Hall will have a new look by the time students arrive on campus for the 2022 – 2023 school year.
On March 7, the Regional University System of Oklahoma Board of Regents approved a renovation project for the residence hall.
University officials plan to tear out the built-in furniture and replace it with portable furniture, said Vice President for Administration Dr. David Pecha. The heating and air conditioning units, lights and ceiling tiles will be replaced.
The showers, sinks and toilets will be torn out and replaced, too. Most are still the original fixtures from the 1960s, Pecha said. Also, the walls will be refinished, retextured and painted so they don’t look like cinderblock walls.
The renovation is set to start May 9 and will be completed by the first week of August, Pecha said.
Students who would have stayed in South Hall over the summer will be moved to one of the other three dorms on campus.
The university will solicit bids from contractors starting in April, Pecha said. The project is estimated to cost roughly $4 million, Pecha said, though the final cost may differ.
The money for the project will be borrowed and paid back over time through a master lease program.
Pecha said the company that did the renovations of Fryer and Coronado halls is interested in doing this project as well.