Southern University males will have to wait a little longer before they’ll be able to move into the much anticipated new male dormitory due to unforeseen funding issues.
“The bid for the project exceeded over the budget amount that was scheduled for (it),” said Endas Vincent, director of facility planning.
Since the dormitory was over the budget, this caused “value engineering” concerns that included the changing of various interior fixtures and other facilities in order to make the project meet state allocated funds, Vincent said.
The dorm’s delay in opening also caused some students to grow disappointed from the inability to move into the much awaited new living quarters.
Joe Austin, a sophomore criminal justice major from Gonzales, said after experiencing cracks in the wall and mold in his former room on campus, he was looking forward to living more comfortably in the new dorm.
Some structural changes Vincent said would have to be made in order to keep the dorm’s construction under budget include reducing the height and width to the left and right sides of the building, which now stands unfinished because of the project’s unexpected delay.
Southern University System President Ralph Slaughter and Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Johnny Anderson, convinced Gov. Kathleen Blanco to fund an additional 2 million dollars to complete the building, according to Vincent.
The dormitory is scheduled to be completed by January 2007, and will hold up to 376 male students on a total of three floors.
“If everything goes according to schedule, the dorms will be furnished over the Christmas holidays,” Vincent said.
According to Marilyn Hill, director of residential housing, all students that are placed in Satterwhite and Moore halls will automatically be transferred into the new dormitory.
Officials have yet to determine what the name of the dorm will be, but with the help of the Office of Facility Planning and the Board of Supervisors, they are expecting something distinguished.