Renovations are under way

By Amy Geiszler-Jones

 If you’ve wandered near Neff Hall and the Math/Physics Building, the aluminum fencing is a telltale sign that construction work is under way.

Crews from Key Construction moved in last month to start remodeling the Math/Physics Building and demolishing the interior of Neff Hall, according to John Gist, director of facilities planning.

The target date for completing renovations in both buildings is Aug. 1. That would allow time for the departments permanently moving to those buildings from McKinley Hall to set up shop before the fall semester. Anthropology will inhabit Neff Hall, while geology will move to Math/Physics which will be renamed the Geology Building at that time.

Once those departments have moved, renovations to increase classroom space and update chemistry labs in the 71-year-old McKinley Hall will begin, Gist said. The target completion date is July 1, 2001.

The renovations of the three buildings account for about $14.1 million of the $21.3 million WSU received in 1996 as part of legislation known as “crumbling classrooms.”