The Current State of Cambridge, Annapolis, and Cumberland Halls

Quick Look:

• Cambridge to remain closed for the indefinite future, demolition or renovation possible options
• Annapolis renovations expected to be complete before the start of spring semester
• Cumberland renovations expected to begin before the start of spring semester
• Many students to be relocated due to renovations
• Dr. Jeff Graham: “We are looking forward to our continued efforts regarding facility improvement”

Earlier in the semester, Cambridge Hall closed unexpectedly, dislocating over 150 students. As the fall semester comes to a close, students are looking toward spring semester – and it is bringing with it even more student relocations. Currently, Annapolis Hall is undergoing renovations – that hall is empty. Once Annapolis is finished, Cumberland Hall is next on the renovations list. What’s the catch? Cumberland Hall is already occupied. Students will need to move out of Cumberland into Annapolis or other halls – for some students, this will be yet another move since their first (and second) move out of Cambridge.

What’s going on with Cambridge Hall?

Cambridge closed early in the fall semester due to growing concerns of mold in the building. The addition of a new chilling system to the building made those concerns more serious, as the chiller caused condensation buildup on the walls. Coupled with the humid and rainy start to the semester, the increased moisture levels in the buildings put it at risk for another mold infestation. The building now stands empty.

What’s going to happen to the building? Interim Director of Residence Life Carl Crowe, member of the Student Affairs Office, was able to shed some light on that topic. “Right now, the university has brought in one company to look at [Cambridge]. The rough estimate that I was told is – one million dollars to knock it down, or seven million at the low end and twelve million at the high end to make the repairs that are needed and bring the building into the 21^st century,” Crowe said.

Crowe foresees multiple futures for the building. “I think Cambridge raises a lot of interesting possibilities. We could certainly look at bringing it back, and rethinking it as single rooms for students,” he said. While demolition remains an option, renovating the building might bring new offerings to campus. “It might be interesting to rethink [Cambridge] as a conference center, like a business and conference center. It might also be interesting to knock the whole building over and build a parking garage,” Crowe said.

Plans for the building remain uncertain. As the university adapts to some of its new administrative offices, the future of Cambridge may become more certain. Crowe pointed out that, “we have a new Vice President of Enrollment Management – how does this sync up with enrollment plans in the long term?”

Ultimately, money will decide the future of the building. “If we were to get twelve million dollars tomorrow, Cambridge would be offline for at least another year [if the university decides to fix the building]. For now, the institution has got to make some decisions, but Cambridge is closed for the indefinite future,” Crowe said.

What’s going on with Annapolis Hall?

Annapolis Hall has been closed for over a year now. The building is one of five, now potentially four, buildings which were slated for renovation. Annapolis, Cumberland, Cambridge, Frederick, and Westminster Halls received a total of $14.4 million in funding three years ago for planned renovations. As the end of fall semester closes in, some students are hoping that Annapolis will reopen before spring semester.

Those students are hoping for good reason – Annapolis will have new lighting, flooring, study areas, a fresh coat of paint, as well as private lockable bathrooms each fitted with a toilet and a shower. In a notification sent recently to residents of Cumberland Hall, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Jeff Graham noted that he and other members of the administration were unsure of the Annapolis renovations being completed in time for spring.

However, after a walk-through of the building, Graham says that the renovations are indeed on track to be complete before the beginning of the spring semester. Carl Crowe confirmed that stance, saying, “In the last conversation we had with the people doing the renovations, they said that they don’t anticipate any problems.” With renovations on track to be completed in Annapolis, the university administration is turning its eye to the next renovation project – Cumberland Hall.

What’s going on with Cumberland Hall?

With Annapolis planned to open before the beginning of the spring semester, Cumberland will be closed as its renovations begin. Cumberland will be receiving many of the same changes that Annapolis is undergoing, but there is a catch – Cumberland Hall is already occupied. Some of the residents of Cumberland Hall are those who were relocated due to the closure of Cambridge. Regardless, all the students in Cumberland will need to be relocated (some for the second or third time) to another hall.

The problem is occupancy. Cumberland Hall has room for 183 students, while Annapolis Hall only has room for 164 students. It won’t be as simple as telling Cumberland residents to move to Annapolis – there just isn’t enough room. Fortunately, undergraduate enrollment tends to drop from fall to spring, so maybe not all of Cumberland Hall’s current residents will need to worry about squeezing into Annapolis. Nonetheless, the Student Affairs Office has come up with a plan to move students.

The moving of students out of Cumberland will logistically appear the same as when students were moved out of Cambridge – the university itself, as well as multiple student organizations, will be providing volunteers to help students as they move. Students in Cumberland Hall will be able to leave their belongings behind over winter intercession, and they will be able to complete their move before the spring semester starts.

The university administration has made some statements about the priorities by which students will be relocated. Firstly, those with documented medical conditions will be given priority choice of rooms. Afterward, upper-class students and honors program students will be given choice of rooms. This may come as a relief to many of those upperclassmen and honors students, seeing as they were heavily impacted by the closure of Cambridge. Thereafter, first-year students and other residents of Cumberland hall will be given choice of rooms. Whether this priority list holds up, however, remains to be seen.

What are the plans moving forward?

Organized plans for relocating students after the closure of Cambridge Hall were reportedly not-so-organized. When the move happened, many students reported that they were simply assigned new rooms with random roommates, while others reported that the search for rooms was a complete free-for-all. Some students remain concerned that the move from Cumberland will be just like the move from Cambridge.

Carl Crowe has received mixed feedback regarding the current housing situation on campus. While many students have been vocal about their displeasure, Crowe sees university transparency as one way to work towards reconciliation. However, Crowe also sees this reconciliation as being a very difficult task. “I don’t think there’s any one thing that the institution can do to make everybody happy. So for me, my focus is on trying to do the right thing for the most number of students,” he said. “We’re not going to be able to make everybody happy, but I really wish we could.”

“Your four-year life as a student is a snapshot in time in relationship to the life of the institution. Meaning, we have to maintain and renovate our facilities in real time, which can often come at the cost of unfortunately inconveniencing students,” Jeff Graham said. “I absolutely realize this information is not the best news to our students, particularly to those previously living in Cambridge Hall who have been inconvenienced by prior moves, and for this, we are sorry. That being said, we are looking forward to our continued efforts regarding facility improvement, while creating better living environments for current and future Bobcats.”