Site development for the new Rieber West residence hall will
begin today with the demolition of the building’s parking
lot, turnaround and dining hall loading dock.
Fences delineating this construction zone for the first phase
were put up Thursday.
Phase 1 consists of the preparation of an alternative access
route to Rieber Hall and the removal of the trees and brush area
nearest De Neve Drive, said Office of Residential Life Construction
Mitigator Maria Amparito Umale del Rosario, who works with students
to reduce tension caused by construction.
The temporary access route will be located south of the previous
main entrance into Rieber and will lead from De Neve Drive to the
front side of Rieber, said ORL Associate Director Jack Gibbons.
Foundational work for the nine-story Rieber West building and
its 591 bedspaces, set to be completed by the end of fall quarter
2005, will follow two months of site development.
Residents should expect traffic on De Neve Drive from the
construction near Rieber. Most of the traffic that will emerge will
be from constructional vehicles, as De Neve Drive itself is not
being constructed upon, Gibbons said.
Due to noise and dust from the demolition and site work, control
measures will be put in place.
Whenever dust levels are expected, there is an effort to control
the amount of dust in the air, del Rosario said.
And to help students adjust to the noise, earplugs will soon be
available at the Rieber Front Desk.
“This morning I woke up to some noise. I guess it’s
irritating, but you deal with it,” said first-year computer
science student Jamie Hernandez.
Some students who have previously experienced construction near
their residence halls know what to expect.
“I lived in Hedrick last year when they started
construction. You’re just lucky if you’re on the side
that doesn’t get the sound,” said second-year political
science student Devin Stone.
Additional accommodations are being planned for students in
Rieber, but the details are still being organized by the
Construction Mitigation Committee, del Rosario said.
“There are lots of hopefully pleasant surprises in store
for all residents living in On-Campus Housing who are impacted by
the construction,” she said.
To inform students of the details and effects of the
construction, an update board will be placed in the small case
nearest the west entrance of Rieber.
The layout of Rieber West and North will be similar to that of
Sunset Village’s Canyon Point, with two double rooms joined
by a connecting bathroom.
The new residence halls, Rieber North and Rieber West, will also
feature single bedroom suites, in which five single rooms will
surround a common bathroom area. There will be two such suites on
each floor.
The Rieber basketball courts and the Housing Administration
Building will be removed when site development begins for Rieber
North in mid-December.
“I like basketball, and I’m disappointed that
they’ll be getting rid of that,” said first-year
computer science student John Hosenpud.
Demolition of this area should be completed before students
return to the residence halls for winter quarter, Gibbons said.