FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2011
Contact: Anika Mitchell Perkins
(662) 329-7124
aperkins@pa.muw.edu

Poindexter Hall renovations and street repairs ongoing at MUW

COLUMBUS, Miss. – Renovations to Poindexter Hall at Mississippi University for Women are almost 50 percent complete, with plans for the building to be substantially complete June 2012.

The first floor of the building will include a grand piano studio, reception and seminar area and student lounge “green room.” The foyer, which contains the original heart pine floors, will lead guests into the historic auditorium that seats 250 and boast a beautiful venue with excellent acoustics for music performances and other campus and community events.

Renovations will also address Americans with Disabilities Act codes and restroom facilities.

“Upon completion of this project, Poindexter will have a new interior to include new mechanical systems and will be fully ADA accessible,” said Jody Kennedy, assistant director of facilities engineering. “This will be made possible by the addition of two new elevators and new access ramps.”

This project is paid for through bond funds from the Legislature at a cost of approximately $7 million.

Poindexter is one of 23 buildings on campus listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Other construction updates include storm drainage and street repair projects that are about 52 percent complete. Streets that will be paved are Fifth Avenue, Sixth Avenue, Seventh Avenue, 10th Street, Serenade Drive, I.I. & C Lane, Ginkgo Place and MUW Drive. The scheduled completion is mid-July.

“The benefits of this project will be most evident during torrential rain events when ponding would normally occur in certain areas of campus. The installation of larger pipes and the implementation of more efficient routing will help to evacuate water from campus at a faster rate. This should eliminate the pooling and retention of water in the campus streets even during the heaviest rain events,” Kennedy said.

Kincannon and Jones residence halls’ fire suppression is scheduled to be finished mid-August. Fire suppression in 100 percent of MUW’s residence halls is a part of the Campus Master Plan, with the goal to have all residence halls equipped with fire suppression by 2016.

“The university will be aggressively looking at providing additional fire suppression projects in the future. These buildings will include Callaway Hall and Grossnickle Hall,” Kennedy added. “Due to the project size and scope of work, we would be limited to only one project per summer, especially when we take summer programming into consideration.”