Some residents of Hokona Hall have gotten used to flipping on their heaters and smelling the 1950s.
Hokona Hall, built in 1957, will get a facelift this summer. The hall was renovated 15 years ago, said Patrick Call, director of Residence Life and Student Housing, and some heating and cooling units are over 50-years-old.
The Regents’ Finance and Facilities Committee approved $3.5 million toward the hall during its meeting Thursday. Revenue from student housing is funding the renovation, Call said.
“Students pay to live with us, and they deserve the best that we can give them,” he said. “We want to get the best bang we can for our student dollars in Hokona.”
Renovations will include new furniture, heating and cooling units, a fire alarm system and card swipe entry, Call said. Student rooms, hallways, laundry areas and commons will be refurbished, he said.
“In the past, they might come in and replace an appliance or a countertop or one fixture in the bathroom,” Call said. “If we’re going to do it, let’s do it right and do it as one all-encompassing package.”
Call said American Campus Communities, the company contracted to build new dorms on South Campus, is doing an evaluation of all dorms on Main Campus. He said ACC may suggest that some dorms be demolished, but not Hokona.
“We heard that Hokona definitely had no issues, so that’s why we’re looking to (renovate) Hokona this year and we plan to do the other buildings in the future,” Call said.
The ACC report on UNM dorms should be complete in October, he said.
Call said the current fire alarm system works well, but is out of date with current fire codes.
“The system that’s in there now is a functional system, a safe system, but with new fire codes coming out there’s a way for us to improve the current system and make it better,” he said.
The new fire alarm system will cost about $650,000, he said.
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Andrea Schoeny, Hokona Hall resident, said improvements to furniture and heating and cooling units will help the overall appearance of the dorms
“The paint is peeling and you can hear everything through the vents, like things that are happening in the bathroom,” she said.
But, Schoeny said, she still enjoys living in the dorms.
“It’s an old building. It’s one of the older dorms, I guess, but it’s nice. I like it,” she said. “They just re-did the bathrooms this summer.”
The fire alarms also worked well during a fire drill last week, she said.
A small fire erupted in Hokona last semester in September from a faulty dryer, and the alarms sounded.
However, one student, Axie Papp, said the alarms didn’t go off until about 30 minutes after the fire started.
Hokona will also be equipped with a card swipe entry system. Residents will need an activated Lobo Card to enter the building.
Call said the only other dorm on campus with card-swipe entry is Redondo Village, but this system is safer and longer-lasting than locks and keys.
Bruce Cherrin, chief procurement officer for the Purchasing Department, said the regents must approve the $3.5 million in funding at their next meeting March 8. Then, companies will be able to submit proposals to do the renovation work, he said.
