Collegiate Times

West Ambler Johnston after the events of April 16th.

Ambler-Johnston Hall is currently set to undergo major renovations, with one of the biggest change for new students being air conditioning for the non-air conditioned residence hall.

Pre construction on the Ambler Johnston Renovation Project is already underway, with the groundbreaking scheduled for May 2009.

Rick Johnson, director of Virginia Tech Housing and Dining Services, said the building will take place in two phases so that students can live in West AJ while East AJ is being renovated, and vice versa.

"One of the main reasons we chose May 2009 to start is because a new residence hall is opening up in summer 2009 that will hold an additional 250 students. That way students will not be out of housing when the renovations will be taking place on either East or West AJ," Johnson said.

In addition to air conditioning being installed in the AJ residence hall, resident rooms will be updated, elevators replaced, study rooms added, and entrances expanded.

"We are going to add 155 suite-style rooms to the building. So the rooms will have new furniture, all new lighting, and all new finishes including new flooring, paint and ceilings," Johnson said. "We are also taking a lot of the areas and changing them around. There will be more meeting space and study space for students, and we are going to have a new fitness room as well."

Tech is requiring of the renovation that the project have LEED certification. It will have formal designation by the U.S. Green Building Council, meaning that the residence hall has met the standards of leadership in energy and environmental design.

"LEED certification is the benchmark that all new buildings and renovations are judged against," Johnson said. "This building will be the first on the Tech campus that will be LEED certified."

Landon White, a sophomore who currently lives in East AJ, likes the idea that Tech is being environmentally conscious.

"I think the LEED certification is great," White said. "With everything that's happening with global warming, it's awesome that we are thinking about that and taking it in to consideration when we do things."

The university has chosen the Barton Marlow Company to head the project. Barton Marlow has a staff of over 1,300 and is a Crain's "Best Places to Work" company. They are headquartered in Southfield, Mich. and provide construction management, design/build, program management, general contracting, technology, and riggingservices nationwide.  

"The reason the school picked (Barton Marlow) is that they have a very strong background in building," Johnson said. "They had quite a bit of experience with this type of project and were the best company that we interviewed. We think we got the best."

A construction manager with Barton Marlow was unauthorized to comment on the AJ Renovation Project.

"We are completely renovating this building," Johnson said. "I think the main thing that the students will notice and love is the courtyard we are going to create for students to sit and mingle. So instead of just being green grass and trees, there's going to be a whole area and a great place for students to congregate."