Duke’s fledgling campus buildings were largely spared from damage when Hurricane Florence changed its path over the weekend.
Construction crews took precautions in light of the impending storm, and the only reported damage from the storm was minor leakage. The renovation of Craven Quad along with the construction of The Hollows and Karsh Alumni and Visitors Center are scheduled to be completed on time in the summer of 2019.
“Duke Project Management worked with each project construction team to ensure proper preparations were made last week for the hurricane,” wrote Joe Gonzalez, assistant vice president of student affairs and dean of residential life, in an email. “Securing items and/or moving equipment off site was part of this process.”
Construction on the sites was shut down except for monitoring, wrote Paul Manning, director of the office of project management, in an email. There were also a number of precautionary measures undertaken to mitigate potential damage to the buildings.
Manning wrote that preparation involved boarding up openings, removing scaffolding, clearing drains, securing construction materials and emptying dumpsters in anticipation of heavy rain and wind. The only reported damage to the buildings involved “minor leaks,” he added.
Since The Chronicle’s last campus construction update in June 2018, construction has been rolling onward.
The Hollows—a new dorm being constructed on West Campus that is projected to hold around 500 to 550 residents—is expected to be ready for the Fall 2019 semester, Manning wrote. The superstructure was finished over the summer, and construction this fall will focus on the enclosure of the building alongside laying out plumbing pipes and electrical cables.
The new dorm is part of the University’s plan to phase out Central Campus by providing more housing space on West Campus.
Craven Quad renovations also began over the summer, which involved demolition and repair of the building roofs. Manning wrote that workers are currently replacing the roof and restoring the glass windows in addition to electrical and plumbing work. The quad’s dorms are expected to be renovated in time to house students again for the Fall 2019 semester.
Current Craven residents affected by the renovations were displaced to the 300 Swift apartment complex this academic year.
Manning wrote that the Karsh Alumni and Visitors Center—which broke ground in the summer of 2017—is also expected to be completed in the summer of 2019.
“Over the summer, the building enclosures were substantially completed, and currently we are working on the interior finishes,” he wrote.
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