The renovations of the University of Wisconsin’s Sellery Residence Hall that began May 2020 are expected to officially finish before 2024, Director of University Housing Jeff Novak said in an email to The Badger Herald.
Renovations of neighboring Witte Residence Hall were completed in 2019, and the renovations for both student housing facilities cost $130 million.
According to Novak, the renovations to Sellery Residence Hall aim to foster resident collaboration and community building. The goal of the project was ultimately to modernize the building, which had not been changed since the 1960s.
Completed in multiple stages, the University first linked the two towers of the building by adding new elevators, two-story lounges and expanded bathrooms. Later, each residence floor was renovated to add central air conditioning and update the furniture and lighting in each room. After that, common areas on the first floor and basement were improved. Finally, all of the mechanical, life safety and security systems were updated to meet the current standards, Novak said.
Fortunately for UW, the link between the buildings allowed the residence hall to remain open, and therefore no students would be displaced.
“We could not be more pleased with the outcomes of the renovations and are extremely appreciative of our partners at DOA [Department of Administration], UW System and across campus,” Novak said.
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Despite the success of the renovation, many residents of Sellery during the 2022-2023 academic year faced difficulties with the construction, according to UW Sophomore Diego Zibell.
Zibell, a former Sellery resident that currently works at the front desk of the residence hall, said that the construction, while tolerable, became disruptive at times for the residents.
“Some people had to move rooms because of the renovations after only a month of being in the building,” Zibell said. “The construction would start at 7a.m. every day and sometimes wake me up.”
Zibell also explained that as a front desk worker, he would hear complaints from other residents at Sellery. Some, for example, would complain of flooding or power outages due to the construction.
Despite the difficulties faced by residents who lived in Sellery while construction took place, Zibell was pleasantly surprised with how well the renovations turned out.
“It was amazing to walk in this year and see how the space changed,” Zibell said.
While some residents reported the renovations were unpleasant at times due to the disruptive nature of the construction, the overall project was successful in creating common spaces and modernizing the overall building, Zibell said.
“With this renovation, we’ve taken a 60-year-old building and made it feel new throughout so that it can be home for many more generations of Badgers,” Novak said.
