News |

Women to head home suite home

Balentine Hall to close in 2003

By Adam D. Thibodeau

Posted on Monday, April 15th, 2002, 12:00 am

E-mail

Tell us what you think!
Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.

The doors of Balentine, the only all female residence hall on campus, will close next year.

As a result, the residents of Balentine will have first preference on the soon-to-be-finished suite complex, nicknamed DTAV 2, for the start of the spring 2003 semester.

According to Barbara Smith, director of Residence Life and Programs, Balentine, which is about 50 years old and the oldest residence hall on campus, is in need of renovations, particularly on electrical systems.

“There is electrical work that needs to happen,” said Balentine resident director Heather Gilbert. “It wasn’t built with the intention of all the appliances we consider necessary for everyday life.”

To accommodate the renovations, the first three floors of Balentine will close at the end of the fall 2002 semester. The residents will then be able to choose whether to move to the DTAV2 complex or relocate to a different dorm. The fourth floor of Balentine will be closed for the entire academic year, in order to “consolidate space,” Smith said.

The renovation has been pending for some time. According to Andy Matthews, director of Housing Services, the renovation was originally planned to begin in the fall of 2002 with Balentine closed for the academic year. However, with an anticipated completion date of November 2002, the DTAV 2 project allowed for increased flexibility in renovation plans. The university administration encouraged Housing Services to start the renovations during the following spring instead. Under this plan, Balentine will only be closed for one semester, with the remainder of the necessary renovations to take place during summer.

The remaining vacancies in the 200-bed DTAV 2 will most likely be chosen according to a lottery, Matthews said. Although finalized plans will be determined closer to the village’s opening.

A proposed 1.9 percent increase in room fees to accommodate the renovations has been submitted before the Board of Trustees, Matthews said. It has not yet been approved.

Overall, the general reaction from the approximate 90 Balentine residents has been positive. Gilbert said the preference toward DTAV 2 helps to soften the blow of having to move in the middle of the year.

Sarah Knight, Balentine’s treasurer and a first-year art history and political science major, said the potential move to DTAV 2 would not be too inconvenient.

“[It] isn’t too shabby, except it’s all the way across campus, and none of my classes are in that vicinity.”

The decision to close a building during the academic year brings additional problems beyond construction. For Smith, there is a concern to ensure the transition from Balentine to DTAV 2 is as seamless as possible. She says the challenge is “not insurmountable,” but she intends to address the diversity in lifestyles between the “charm of Balentine” and the suites of the new complex. Smith also anticipates a need for flexibility because of the fact that there may be first-year students living in an area established for upperclassmen.

The new DTAV facility may also lead to the closing of York Village, although not until the end of the 2002/03 academic year. The need for a 25-year-old village setting was questioned when a modern one will soon be finished. According to Matthews, this is to condense housing, and does not necessarily mean that the buildings will be torn down. Additionally, the complex is costly to operate because it is based on electric heat.

Although the closing of the complex does not affect many of the current residents, the displacement of the remaining York Village residents has caused some disappointment.

“DTAV 2 has been presented as an option for residents, but those affected by this decision are having a difficult time accepting the idea,” said Rachel Johnson, president of the York Village Council. “First, DTAV 2 will provide suite-style living rather than the apartment setup that York Village offers. Secondly, those residents who will be displaced by the closure of York Village are not guaranteed a place in DTAV 2 since it will be done by lottery.”