Campus North Residential Commons will undergo exterior window construction over the next year, according to an email sent to building residents by UChicago Housing & Residence Life (HRL) on Friday, September 15.
The repairs involve removing and replacing the sealant surrounding windows to prevent “long-standing issues with leaks entering student rooms since the opening of Campus North in 2016,” according to a frequently asked questions sheet attached to the email.
“While experiencing all four seasons is one of the joys of living in Chicago, your safety and comfortability is our top priority, and we want to ensure those weather elements do not seep past the windows and into your living space,” the email read.
Exterior repair work will be done on each specific window for an estimated four non-consecutive days during a five- to six-week span sometime during the next year, per the email. During this period, construction workers will use scaffolding to move vertically past each window “multiple times per day as they move up and down the elevation.”
Construction workers, escorted by UChicago Facilities staff, will also enter rooms requiring exterior work twice over the span of the five- to six-week repair period for each window: once to remove window handles, preventing the windows from being opened from the inside, and once to reinstall the handles after the exterior work has been completed.
Work on the exterior windows will occur from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, according to the email. Work may also be done on Saturdays if inclement weather prevents work from being done on weekdays.
In its list of frequently asked questions, HRL wrote that noise resulting from the construction will vary depending on the task throughout the day but that most noise-generating tasks would be completed between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. The email, which mentioned a possible “buzzing noise outside [residents’] windows” during that hour, said that “the noise impact is expected to be minimal through the duration of the project.”
HRL also confirmed in the email that, to ensure privacy, construction workers cannot see into student rooms when the shades are drawn and the blinds are closed.
The frequently asked questions sheet encourages students to use the building’s second-floor study rooms, study spaces on the 15th floor of the A tower, or the nearby Regenstein and Mansueto libraries if the construction noise impedes their studying.
Per the email, no debris or dust will enter student rooms during construction, and radiant systems will ensure proper ventilation in rooms where windows cannot be opened. The email said that canopies may be placed over some of the dormitory’s entrances and exits but that none of them would be blocked by the construction.
“We have worked diligently with our campus and construction partners to ensure this work gets done efficiently with as little inconvenience to our Campus North community as possible,” the email read. “With this work being done, we can achieve our goal of making sure Campus North Residential Commons remains a comfortable and safe place to feel at home. We will make sure to proactively communicate updates to our community, as necessary.”
Questions about the construction can be directed to housing@uchicago.edu.
