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Students living in York Village awaiting honors housing have finally moved into Balentine Hall. But was it worth the wait?
The move-in dates for Balentine residents were pushed back as a result of renovation delays, and students were just allowed to move in Saturday, Oct. 4.
The delay was caused by numerous mishaps, including the collapse of a catch basin, which collects and disperses rain and melted snow, according to Housing Services Director Andy Matthews. Also, an underground boulder was found while renovating the elevator to make it handicapped accessible and had to be hand-blasted out. Another delay was caused when more asbestos was found in the building than planners had originally thought was there, he said. Then, after construction was complete, cleaning needed to be done to make the space livable.
After all of the repairs were complete, fire code and asbestos inspections needed to be performed. The elevator was officially inspected Monday morning, Matthews said.Delays pushed back the deadline more and more, Matthews said.
“Each delay held up all the other projects,” he said. “Time was the biggest factor. The contractors’ schedules did not always mesh with our course schedule.”
Students were finally allowed to move in, only to find more problems, although the delay allowed for the repainting of most of the rooms, Matthews said.
One problem was that some students’ outlets didn’t work. Another was a sink missing its hardware. In a stair tower, one of the walls was repaired but not yet repainted. In other places wires are exposed, he said.
Balentine resident Lucas Manley said though he’s happy to have a permanent home, he wishes residents would have been kept more up to date on the moving process.
“It was pretty bad, more because they kept telling us we were moving and then two days later they said it would be another two weeks,” he said. “If they’d just said in the beginning, ‘Don’t get your hopes up for a while,’ it would have been better.”
Some problems remained unresolved because of their placement on the “punch list,” a list of smaller things to be taken care of as time goes on, Matthews said.
One of the biggest problems for students has been the lack of Internet service. Matthews said there are a finite number of IP addresses, which students living in York Village used. This left an insufficient number of addresses left over for Balentine students, Matthews said. All of the students in Balentine, whether they now have access or not, will have to re-register, and the problem should be solved, Matthews said.
“It’s a nuisance and a pain, I know, but at least [Information Technologies] gave students notice so they wouldn’t think something was wrong,” he said.
Residents are relieved to be settled following all of the delays, according to Balentine resident director Kim Devoursney.
“Generally, everyone is happy and excited about our new home,” she said.
As the punch list gets smaller and the inspections end, students living in Balentine can still expect some changes.
“This is only phase one,” Matthews said. “This was to make the residence accessible to everyone, so anyone could join the Honors College, regardless of physical handicaps.”
A ramp was added to the building and a handicapped elevator was installed. Matthews said he did not know what phases two and three consist of or when they will take place.
Bangor Daily News