Students will not be able to study on the third floor of the Oscar A. Silverman Library in Capen Hall, or ‘Club Capen,’ for longer than initially planned.
The third floor of Capen was closed on Dec. 16, 2014 for renovations as a part of UB’s Heart of the Campus construction project, and was scheduled to reopen sometime in November 2015. But recent delays have pushed the reopening back to February 2016.
Construction, which was supposed to begin in April, can’t begin until June because asbestos has to be removed from the floor first.
UB allowed multiple contractors to bid for the removal of asbestos, but this process took longer than expected, according to Dean Hendrix, assistant director for University Libraries.
Hendrix said it was necessary to have companies bid for the project so that costs could be minimized.
Competitively bidding the abatement saved UB more than $200,000, according to Hendrix. Epic Contracting Inc. is removing the asbestos, while Watts Architecture and Engineering is monitoring the air during the removal. Both companies are based in Buffalo.
Lockwood has served as served as UB’s 24-hour library since the third floor of the Silverman Library was closed, but some students are concerned the delayed opening will cause further crowdedness in Lockwood.
Charles W. Schaab is an assistant news editor and can be reached at news@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
