Over the summer, Witt-Winn residence hall experienced $11.8 million in renovations as part of a master plan for reconstruction on campus.

All of the interior and some parts of the exterior were renovated.

“We totally gutted the building down to the structure and rebuilt it. The exterior walls, interior walls, all the infrastructure, electrical, plumbing, conditioning the variety of systems, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems and rebuilt it,” said John Greene, the director of campus planning and sustainability.

Witt-Winn now features new bathrooms, floors, desks and a new outdoor patio in Winn.

“Well I lived there two years ago, and it wasn’t so nice my freshmen year. The air conditioning didn’t work, there was mold everywhere,” said Matt Peebles, a resident mentor on Witt-Winn Second.

The residents in Witt-Winn are also able to customize their space because the furniture is no longer attached to any of the walls.

“Now that everything is modular you can really customize it. I’ve taken full advantage of it,” Peebles said.

The renovation of Witt-Winn is the final piece in a series of renovations to the first year quad. Plans to renovate the quad began to surface in 2008.

“In 2008, we had a mini master plan that we developed for the first-year quad. As a result of that, the university committed to renovating Miller residence hall, which we did in 2009, and Calvert in 2010. Then Witt and Winn in 2013. Witt and Winn is the final part of that master plan,” Greene said.

The construction of the multi-million-dollar Center for Sciences and Innovation played an important part in the Witt-Winn renovation and is the reason the project was delayed for so long.

“Part of the reason for the delay was because the Witt Winn project benefited directly by the CSI project because it was part of the CSI project. We used to have a building on the site of the CSI that had the heating and air conditioning plant. We had three different locations for central heating and air conditioning buildings on campus. As a part of the entire project we had to consolidate those into a single one and one of those original three was in the east end of Winn hall. We were able to vacate that space as a result. We have been able to create common spaces in the Witt Winn project,” Greene said.

In addition to the aesthetic renovation of the building, the residence hall also underwent a name change. Instead of its previous status as two separate residence halls, Winn and Witt, the hall is now officially referred to as Witt-Winn residence hall.

Christened “the Cage” by the class of 2017, the new outdoor patio on the edge of Witt-Winn provides a space for students to study. The patio replaces the Winn 3rd study lounge that previously occupied the space before renovations.