Swig renovations planned
By Jack Wagner
The interior of Swig Hall will be completely gutted over the summer -- its first large-scale renovation since its construction in 1965.
Although the exterior is going to remain the same, the interior of the building is going to be completely redone. The student rooms will get new furniture, sinks and vanities, flooring, lighting, freshly painted walls and added data and electrical services.
"It's pretty much a complete gut, or as much as you can do in a concrete building," said John Veargason, the project manager for Planning and Projects at Santa Clara. "We're stripping down to the concrete walls and filling everything back in."
According to Makoto Ushihara, the director of Housing Facilities, numerous changes are going to occur in Swig and hardly a single aspect of the building's interior will remain untouched.
The rooms will also receive individual heating controls to go with the replaced heating system in the building.
The common areas, such as the lounges, stairwells and hallways, will be given a fresh coat of paint as well. They will be given new flooring, ceilings and lighting.
The Sky Lounge, known for providing scenic views of the area, will be completely stripped back to the walls. It will be rebuilt into a large meeting and programming space for the building.
On the same floor, a new conference room with glass paneling will be built outside the eleventh floor elevator lobby area.
Three new kitchens will be added as well, going into the third, fifth and ninth floor lounges. Staff apartments will also be updated with new floor coverings, ceilings and paint.
Many Santa Clara residents have noticed that KSCU, the school's radio station, has moved into the basement of Benson and out of the basement in Swig.
This basement space, as well as some storage space will be transformed into a new conference room, a large recreation area, two music practice rooms, a small theater, a small dance studio and an additional laundry facility.
The renovations are scheduled to begin on June 10 and should be completed by Sept. 10, according to Ushihara.
The project is being managed by Master Project Management, with general oversight coming from Santa Clara's Planning and Projects Department and the Housing Office. The general contractor for the project is Hallmark construction, which has a history of working with Santa Clara.
"Hallmark is a very good company for us. They know the constrains of the job and the tight construction window," Veargason said. "They know how we like things done around here, and it's great to have them on board."
According to the University Operations Web site, Swig was originally constructed in 1965 in response to a growing student population at Santa Clara. The building was named after Benjamin Swig, then chairman of the school's Board of Trustees. It serves as the home to the Cyphi Residential Learning Community. Without major renovation, it has undergone some minor changes and updates over the years.
Regarding the renovations that are taking place, freshman Lauren Isaki said, "Now more people will probably want to live there. They're lucky."
According to Ushihara, the total cost of the renovation will come to slightly more than $10 million.
Contact Jack Wagner at jcwagner@scu.edu or (408) 554-4546.