By 2015, all UF residence halls will have central air conditioning.
This summer, Oelrich Construction Inc. is installing central air conditioning in Buckman Hall for about $1.3 million, and Charles Perry Partners Inc. is replacing the windows in Thomas Hall for $1.6 million, according to an email from Sharon Blansett, assistant to the associate vice president for Student Affairs.
Next summer, central air conditioning units will be installed in Thomas Hall for $1.7 million. Residence halls that previously didn’t have central air only had wall units, or students were allowed to bring their own cooling devices. Blansett wrote that $4-to-$6 million is set aside each year from rent profits for residence hall renovations and repairs.
For Sara Wedemeyer, a 19-year-old UF geology sophomore, air conditioning is a welcome addition.
“Things change, and time changes,” she said. “So if these dorms change, their popularity would change because they wouldn’t cater to today’s living.”
Jackie Ramos, a 20-year-old UF nutritional science senior, said although it’s nice to have air conditioning, the buildings, some of the first residence halls at UF, are losing history.
“There isn’t going to be anything left from the past,” she said. “They’ll be just like any other building at UF.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 5/27/2014 under the headline "By 2015, all Gators in residence halls will be cool"]
All residence halls will have air conditioning by summer 2015. Buckman and Thomas halls were the last holdouts, unlike Broward Hall.
