Collegiate Times

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Ambler-Johnston Hall will have major changes in the next few years.

Dietrick lawn has been cut nearly in half. About 40 percent of the grass is now home to a shelter, which will be housing numerous contractors and renovation staff over the next three years.

It is one small part of a very large Ambler-Johnston complex renovation.

Ed Spencer, vice president of Student Affairs, said what people on campus see for now is essentially the staging process of a much larger project.

"That is the beginning of the staging area for Ambler-Johnston complex renovation project," Spencer said. "Whenever you're carrying out a large renovation or construction project, this is something you need. That building will be the offices that the contractors will be using during the three years that this project will be going on."

Dietrick lawn has also been earmarked as a potential site for a new residence hall in a few years, but no definite plans have yet been made by the university.

The West and East AJ project, as a whole, will take about three years to complete.

The renovation of the east side of the complex will begin this summer. In terms of residential wings, the renovations are similar, but the connector wing included in the first half of the project adds square footage and represents the contrast in completion times.

"The connector wing in east AJ is going to close on May 16th, when we shut down after commencement, and will remain closed until August 2011," Spencer said. "That fall, east AJ and the connector wing will reopen. Then in May 2011, west AJ will have closed and will be closed until August 2012 when it will reopen upon completion of renovations."

By the fall of 2012, when west AJ reopens, Tech will have added more than 1,300 beds to its on-campus housing stash, and all rooms in the AJ complex will be air conditioned.

"Some of this project is going to be a major gutting because we're seriously changing the spaces while other parts will just be renovations and slight modifications," Spencer said. "The biggest part will be the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, as AJ is going to have AC for the first time."

Other changes to the building include the creation of some seminar-style meeting rooms and classrooms and new study lounges.

Some rooms will also be converted to suite-style, the living arrangement of current Tech students living in newer residence halls such as Peddrew-Yates and Payne Halls.

"Bathrooms will have more privacy, and the study lounges, fitness rooms, and mailrooms will all be updated. Meeting rooms and seminar-style classrooms will also be added," Spencer said. "Some work will also be done on the exterior of the building in terms of aesthetic improvements. We are doing some corrective work to the Hokie Stone, similar to the work done at Career Services and McComas."