Jackman to get a make over

As one group moves out, another group plans to move in to Norwich.
Just as students pack their bags to head home for the start of summer, construction crews will be lined up to begin work on a tight deadline before the students return again in the fall.

According to David Magida, chief administrative officer of Norwich, construction crews will begin a 10-week "critical maintenance" on Jackman Hall May 17, beginning the most work the building has seen in its 44-year existence.

"It's hitting a point in its life where it needs some fairly significant work," Magida said. "It's work that we can no longer wait to do."

Plans for construction on Jackman Hall have been in the works for a few years, but it hasn't been a necessity until now.  While Magida put together a "project list" along with recommendations from experts such as engineers and architects, it is ultimately the Board of Trustees that decides whether to give the go ahead with a project on the list.

"Jackman has needed work, but we've been concentrating on other buildings; dormitories have been one of our major concentrations over the last many years," Magida said.

According to Magida, Norwich hired an engineering firm to look at Jackman about two years ago. It noticed a few pieces of the building moving slightly, so a "full-blown engineering study" was performed. And "as a result, we're doing this now," Magida said.

The major work on Jackman will include the parapet (a wall-like barrier made of marble that connects the roof) and the cupola (the clock tower on top of Jackman). The overall cost will be around $460,000, far from the $2 million that is typically spent each year on routine maintenance around campus.

"It's a lot of money, but the building is worth many millions of dollars and we have to protect the building, and more importantly, protect the people. Anything with the roof is one of the last things you can let go," Magida said.

The parapet is beginning to fall in, Magida said. "It's dangerous." And the cupola needs parts rebuilt. "From down on the ground it doesn't look so bad. But the wood's all rotted; it's passed its life," he said.

The construction is projected to be very labor intensive, according to Magida, because it's "not a matter of throwing in one brand-new prebuilt parapet. It all has to be rebuilt by hand by skilled masons."

 Also receiving work during this construction phase is the WNUB tower which sits on top of the cupola, causing an interruption in the radio station for approximately two days. 

"The tower itself is OK but the way it's anchored to the roof is not current.  It needs to be done a better way. We will be repositioning the guide wires," Magida said. 

The renovations that will be done on Jackman Hall during the first part of summer are necessary in order to protect and maintain the building. 

"If we avoided doing this work for too long, this $400,000 bill would be much more than that." Magida said. 

Due to the sensitivity of the roof and its easy ability to be damaged, all of this construction will be done at once to prevent having to go back on the roof again for maintenance for "decades," according to Magida. 

The only disruption to the Norwich community will be the parking, but according to Magida, "It's work that this is the best time of year for us to be doing."