The interior of Onondaga Hall received a number of updates and renovations this summer. The building was completely repainted, the ceiling patched and sprayed and all new carpeting was installed.
Residence halls at Oswego State are continuously being updated and maintained throughout the course of a year. The work for Onondaga Hall’s renovations was contracted out and work began about a week or two after graduation in May and were completed on Aug 1. Then, all the rooms and bathrooms were cleaned to get everything set the last two weeks of summer. According to Residence Life and Housing Vice President Richard Kolenda, it was determined that the whole building would be done all at once.
“It was time to do the whole thing from top to bottom and start fresh,” Kolenda said. “The entire building was painted, student rooms, bathrooms, suites, corridors, stairwells, lobby, and basement, from top to bottom. The only thing that wasn’t painted were the fire doors and that will be the next thing to go.”
The project to renovate Onondaga, the campus’ only building containing suites and houses 600 students, cost an estimated $550,000, which comes from the room rent that students pay when living on campus.
Residence Life and Housing regularly updates residence hall facilities. The administration sets aside improvement funds each year. Sometimes improvements are not always visible because a lot of updates will be mechanical upgrades that keep the facilities functioning. Residence halls receive paint every year for multiple reasons, including whether or not they were damaged or scuffed up, but Onondaga Hall was completely painted. Other renovations were also made to the building, including a number of new water fountains and replacing the damaged water-stained walls behind them, according to Kolenda.
“Another thing that happened [to the building] was the patching of the holes in the ceiling and sprayed it with a light popcorn spray, they also replaced the cove base (along the bottom of the floor where the carpet meets the wall) and carpeting in suite, lounges and corridors,” Kolenda said.
Students seem to be enjoying the renovations that were made. Megan Loper, a senior who is living in Onondaga for the third year ,is particularly happy about the new carpets throughout the building.
“I like the new renovations, especially the new carpets in the building,” Loper said. Now finally every room has the same carpet color without having stains from the people before. Last year the carpets had stains everywhere and especially on the upper floors right outside the elevator.”
Residents are also enjoying the freshly painted walls, which gives the dorm a more comfortable atmosphere.
“I like all the changes that they did with these renovations. The paint color matches the carpet and makes the building look nicer and has a home feeling to it,” Loper said.
Jake Gardner, the hall director for Onondaga Hall, is pleased with the renovations.
“The renovations in Onondaga help make the building more conducive to living and learning and make the building a more comfortable place to live and study,” Gardner said.
