MARQUETTE - Northern Michigan University students had to be out of their Van Antwerp Hall rooms on May 5, just after the end of the winter semester.

On May 8, the building trades and general contractor Gundlach Champion moved in, starting a summer-long process that will result in the complete refurbishment of the 50-year-old hall.

"The upgrades we're doing are really necessary," said Brandon Sager, owner's representative for NMU. "Basically the building hasn't been touched since it was built in the mid-1950s."

The $8 million renovation project will put to work about 60 Hardhats at peak employment. They will be moving quickly over the next few months to get the hall ready for habitation in August.

Sager said the first three weeks of the project involved asbestos abatement, with the removal of ceiling and floor tiles, as well as the removal of lead paint from various areas, especially door frames. He said the project will then proceed to "completely gutting" the interior of the building.

All existing resident rooms, bathroom facilities and lounges will be upgraded. A sunroom will be added to the dorm, new windows will be added, and a system that will improve air circulation in bathrooms and corridors will be installed. The renovations will also include the installation of a new elevator.

NMU said the Van Antwerp renovations are a continutation of the campus' Quad II complex renovation, which included work on Magers Hall (completed in 2005) and Meyland Hall (completed in 2006). Hunt Hall renovations are slated for next year. All the halls are in the range of 60,000 square-feet.

"It's a challenge with the tight time span, but we're looking really good with the schedule," Sager said. "I think we've learned from the previous halls that we've worked on, and that experience has helped us quite a bit."

A DUCT IN VAN ANTWERP HALL under renovation at Northern Michigan University is sized up by Bob Cisluycis of Sheet Metal Workers Local 7.

NEW TRUSSES abound in a lay-down area at Van Antwerp Hall at Northern Michigan University. Photos by Jack Deo/Superior View Photography, Marquette