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University Towers project delayed

The University Towers project has been pushed back roughly six months, and the towers are now slated to be completed in Spring 2022.

The change was announced in the most recent news bulletin from the Board of Trustees, which briefly explained that “The six-month change resulted from additional site evaluation work indicating
the need for an even more robust foundation.”

The Stute quickly reached out to the relevant officials for additional information, which Bob Maffia, Vice President for Facilities and Campus Operations, provided in a joint response a few days later. When asked what additional issues were discovered that warranted the change, he said, “Geotech surveys revealed a fractured, sloping rock strata that required additional investigation, leading to a different foundation design than anticipated during the conceptual design phase.”

When asked why these issues were not discovered in previous site evaluations, he said, “This happens during the normal course of design. The original schedule was based on a very preliminary, conceptual design. Typical to the process of progressing the design phase, additional evaluation of existing conditions is performed. This led to a more detailed surveying and Geotech analysis to be performed during the design development phase, prior to completion of the final documents.”

When asked if the delay would influence the timeline of Hayden Hall’s closure, he said, “No, Hayden will still close at the end of the semester.”

Finally, when asked if more delays were anticipated in the future, he said, “Every construction project experiences issues that could not be anticipated during the design, often times due to unknowns or concealed conditions. A project this size and complex will certainly have its share. It is having the proper team on board to deal with those issues as they arise that makes all the difference. We have a very solid team of specialists that has experience with projects of this magnitude and will know how to address those situations as they arise.”

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