In the fall of 2018 during the Lipscomb Leads campaign announcement, President Lowry listed buildings on campus that are to be renovated, and he is finally making good on that promise. On Feb 11 Lipscomb announced to its student body a new renovation project for Elam Hall, one of the older residence halls on Lipscomb’s campus.
Elam Hall’s $11 million renovation commenced on Thursday Feb. 13. The first phase of the construction project will be the installation of a new elevator that will be connected to the current building by a breezeway. Students can expect the project to be completed sometime in August before the first day of classes.
The second phase of renovations will include waterproofing the basement, refurbishing the front porch area and a complete renovation of all interior areas of the residence hall, including all dormitory rooms, public and private showers, restrooms, lobbies, gathering areas, kitchens and lounges.
“Students that are going to be living in the resident halls, I think they are going to be excited,” said Laurie Sain, Dean of Housing and Residence Life. “Right now, everyone is being great in Elam, they’re being very understanding even though they are not getting the benefit of the new resident hall, but they are very excited it is finally happening.”
While there are many new additions and updates coming to the resident hall, some of the current residents are not as thrilled.
“I’ll admit, I am happy they are finally renovating Elam. However, I believe this is poor timing,” said Zoe Guest, an Elam Hall resident. “It’s midterms and the loud construction noise is going to make it very difficult for us to study, considering they’re going to be working for hours on end… We’re happy it is getting done, because it should have been done five years ago… every girl in Elam that I’ve talked to has been upset.”
Other students on Lipscomb’s campus believe that some of the renovation money and donations should be used for other projects, such as updating Sewell and some of the less funded colleges.
“It’s frustrating, because I am in the college of computing and technology, and we are just a few rooms in the back of Swang. They are spending millions of dollars on the basketball team. And Elam is gross, I get that, but McFarland looks like it is falling apart and also is from 1972, and it’s just stuff like that… I mean are the classroom facilities are important? Yes,” said Lucy Dickson, a junior undergraduate student.
Work is scheduled from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8 a.m.- 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday with the majority of the Elam Hall renovation beginning on May 3 following commencement.