Construction of a new elevator and repairs to the outer surface of the Marvin Center are slowing pedestrian traffic on H Street and increasing automobile traffic.
These repairs are only the beginning of renovations planned for the Marvin Center.
Students returned from spring break to find the entrance to J Street and the GW Bookstore covered with scaffolding. The scaffolding around the entrance to the Marvin Center on H Street has caused headaches, some students said.
Sophomore Nick Colletti finds the work annoying because it forces students to walk out of their way to cross the street. Freshman Lauren Tripodi agreed that the construction produces hassles.
It causes traffic jams of students, she said. Yesterday I had to wait on line just to get inside the Marvin Center, and the scaffolding did not even protect me from the rain.
Conditions are unlikely to improve any time soon. Mike Gargano, assistant vice president for Student and Academic Support Services, said this is the next phase of construction that sets the stage for the major portion of the construction on the Marvin Center.
Crews are working to install a new elevator that will provide service between the garage entrance and the first floor entrance of the Marvin Center. The elevator addition is in compliance with the American Disabilities Act, said Mike Petron, chairman of the Marvin Center Governing Board.
GW’s Construction Manager Warren Yaun said when the Marvin Center was built, expansion joints were not installed, leaving little room for the building’s bricks to expand with time.
This caused the bricks to bulge out from the side of the building. Workers are repairing this by removing rows of bricks and putting in expansion or soft joints. The project began during spring break and is scheduled to be completed by graduation, meaning the scaffolding will stay for the remainder of the semester.
More renovations are in store for the Marvin Center, GW officials said. A four-story addition is planned for the 21st Street side of the building. This addition will expand the Bookstore and create a new Great Hall and ballroom. Both the Great Hall and new ballroom will be two stories each. Gargano described the Great Hall as a big open area for events services and meetings.
The expected completion date for this portion of the project is May 2001.
By the beginning of the fall semester the old ballroom will be renovated and reduced to allow for a new 100-seat amphitheater. Gargano said the amphitheater will be built in spaces now occupied by part of the ballroom and the ramp leading into the ballroom. The roof also will be replaced this summer, Yaun said.
Because scaffolding will not be removed in the near future, Gargano warned, students should be extra careful because of the increased car traffic, construction and deliveries.
He advises them to follow simple safety rules, such as cross at the corner, look both ways.
