As Coronado Residence Hall undergoes its third phase of construction, much of the building has been demolished and approximately 5 percent of the project is complete, according to the UA’s Project Status Report.
Built in 1966, this is the first time in 18 years that the residence hall is undergoing renovations. Plans for the hall’s revamp include replacing mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, and renovating bathrooms.
Christopher Kraft, a facilities project manager, said the size of the common spaces will be increased and unnecessary amenities such as ironing board rooms will be eliminated. The superstructure of Coronado will remain the same, according to Kraft, and updating the interior of the building is the focus of the renovation.
“We’re not just improving what’s there, we’re renovating the place and making it new,” Kraft said. “Everything except the structure is being replaced with brand-new finishes, brand-new plumbing fixtures, brand-new showers, brand-new washers and dryers, brand-new everything. It’s going to be like a new building, but in the … concrete and brick tower that we all know and love.”
Seth Litman, a psychology senior who lived in Coronado his freshman year, said the dryers, which cost money to use, never completely dried his clothes and led him to use other services.
In response to these complications, incoming students can look forward to new laundry facilities and water lines.
Cooper Feldman, a sociology senior and former Coronado resident, said he was forced to move rooms his freshman year because of a major pipe leakage. Feldman also said the dorm room refrigerators often leaked.
Jillian Lipstone, a creative writing senior, said she had fond memories of living in Coronado, though rats running through pipes, frequent elevator complications and stained carpets were all accessories to her freshman year dorm-living experience.
Despite Coronado’s vintage exterior, its new interior will match up to the new facilities of Arbol de La Vida Residence Hall and Likins Hall, and the interior will finally be as nice as the views, Kraft said.
“It may look like a slightly dated building compared to the villas that are going up next door, but it will have all the amenities that you’re going to find in the other dormitories,” Kraft said. “(Coronado) was built for the ages, but times change, and tastes change, and codes change, and we’re simply trying to take a perfectly good residence hall and structure and modernize it, renovate it and update it.”
