SU Board discuss old dorm demolition

Southern University’s Board of Supervisors deliberated the demolition of the four vacant dorms in the back of the Baton Rouge campus located near the new Intramural Athletic Complex.
According to the SU BOS, the dorms are obsolete, unsafe and unsanitary to the student life zone.
The four dorms, which are approximately 33,000 square feet each and nearly 60 years old, considered for demolition include: Morris Henry Carroll Hall, Mildred McKinley Satterwhite Hall, Ollie Butler Moore Hall and Octavia Head Clark Hall and Octavia Dining Hall. 
According to Endas Vincent system director of facilities planning said the contractors were given 180 days to complete the demolition of the four buildings.
“If they get their full 180 days, we are looking at April, but we are pushing for January,” Vincent said.
Darren Mire, representative of the second congressional district, voiced his concerns of the delay of the dorms’ demolition at the board meeting.
“Those four buildings back there creates crime problems,” Mire said.
Mire said with the fencing around the buildings are attracting students to go beyond the fencing, committing crimes in other words.
“We want to make sure that they’re still on this project,” Mire said.
According to Vincent the delays of the demolition of the four dorms are because of environmental abatement to remove asbestos from the buildings.
“It’s not really a delay, it’s just that we have abatement,” Vincent said.
Vincent said in a prior meeting with the contractors to tear down the dorms, he said he told the contractors that the dorms had to come down sooner than 180 days.
“I told them we had to have them down by January,” Vincent said.
As of now Vincent said the contractors are currently removing lead paint, mastic and asbestos.
“All of that is going to take about 90 days and I’m trying to push them,” Vincent said.
According to Vincent, the total cost to demolish the four buildings totaled less than $800,000.
Another discussion the board discussed was completion of the university place, located on the bluff.
Vincent said that there was a meeting held to discuss the date of completion of the University Place.
“The last report I received was Dec. 13,” Vincent said.
According to Calvin Braxton, representative of the sixth Congressional District, if the University Place was finished by now, the system can save approximately $35,000 a year.
“Someone could move in there and save some money,” Vincent said.
Braxton also questioned the completion of the house.
He made the point that the system purchased a hotel for $3 million and it was completed within six weeks of purchase, according to Braxton.
“So you can’t get a house fixed for $237,000,” Braxton asked.
According to Vincent because the project used to sources of funding and using the same contract, it took away time from the project.
“We have FEMA funds and we also have the Disaster Grant Relief funds,” Vincent said.