Covenant College is kicking off an extensive exterior renovation of its flagship building, Carter Hall.
Covenant College is kicking off an exterior renovation of Carter Hall, originally built in 1928.
Covenant President J. Derek Halvorson said, "The present renovation is the culmination of seven years of planning and represents a proactive approach to reducing costly maintenance expenses and ensuring that future generations of Covenant students will be able to enjoy living, studying, and dining in Carter Hall."
The two-year project will return the exterior of Carter Hall to its original design. The skin that was attached to the building in the early 1980s will be removed, the original stucco will be patched and re-coated and the stonework will be repaired. A new roof will be installed, all the windows will be replaced with double windows, and the original design of the historic tower will be reclaimed. There are plans to bring back the porches on the north and south ends of the building and conduct limited renovations on the interior of the building, including the installation of a fire sprinkler system.
Planning is underway for a separate project that will include a renovation of the Great Hall during the summer of 2016.
The renovation of Carter Hall will occur in four semester-long phases and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2017. During each phase, students and staff located in the particular section under renovation will be relocated to other housing and offices around campus. Students, staff, and faculty will continue to make use of most of the building, which houses residence halls, administrative offices, the Great Hall, the Blink, the Tuck Shoppe and the mailroom.
The estimated cost of the renovation is $19.4 million. "To date, we have $6.7 million designated for the renovation and an additional $4 million in pledges, providing the resources necessary to begin the project, while we launch a campaign to raise the remaining $8.7 million," said Dr. Halvorson.
The progress may be viewed at covenant.edu/carter.