2012 LAMBTON HALL & FAMILY HOUSING RENOVATIONS Student Housing Services overview to PRPC regarding the proposed renovation to Lambton Hall and 78 College Ave.
Introduction In the Fall 2011 semester the President announced the desire to repurpose the Macdonald Hall residence to an academic building to serve the critical space needs facing the College of Management and Economics. This potential change in the residence stock, accompanied by enrolment and student demographic changes prompted Student Housing Services (SHS) to undergo a full review of the needs for on campus student accommodation with the end goal of preparing a strategic vision for the next decade. In June 2012 the plan was submitted to the senior administration. The report took into account the importance of student accommodation in the decision making process of prospective students, the need to remain competitive with our comparator universities, the aging infrastructure of a residence system comprised of traditional styles of accommodation, and the dynamic nature of student demographics. Additionally, the report examined the increasingly competitive market for student accommodation off campus and by private developers. Strategic recommendations from the report included the following: 1. That no new residences (private or otherwise) be constructed at this time. Instead, SHS should continue with its aggressive deferred maintenance and aesthetic renewal plans for all existing residences. 2. That SHS should undertake a significant renovation to Lambton Hall to address an identified shortfall of rooms with: privacy; flexibility of furniture; private washrooms; and choice in style type. 3. That SHS create new opportunities for both upper year and entering students to reside in suite/townhouse style of accommodation. As such, entering students should be permitted to apply for accommodation in the East Village Townhouses, and that part of 78 College Ave become a mixed use community serving both students with families and single undergraduate students. Proposed Changes to Lambton Hall Current Style Lambton Hall opened in 1967. Designed in a traditional double loaded corridor style, the residence serves a population of 425 students living in primarily double rooms. The rooms have a standard complement of residence furniture bed, desk, wardrobe (which are built in rather than flexible). Although the Lambton rooms are the second largest in the system by square footage, the built-in nature of the furniture creates the impression of limited space. 1 Lambton Hall and Family Housing Renovations
. Figure 1: Lambton Hall Corridor Figure 2: Lambton Hall Room (from window) 2 Lambton Hall and Family Housing Renovations
Figure 3: Lambton Hall Room (from door) The traditional style also requires that residents must purchase a meal plan. Washrooms in Lambton are segregated by gender (M, F) and are communal in nature. The student to washroom ratio varies by gender (Guelph has a proportionately higher number of females in residence). Less than ¼ of the occupants of Lambton asked for Lambton as their first choice of accommodation. Feedback from applicants includes the desire for double rooms that are more spacious and have a flexibility to move furniture around to create a sense of personal space within a shared room. 3 Lambton Hall and Family Housing Renovations
Figure 4: Example of current washroom Figure 5: Example of current washroom 2 4 Lambton Hall and Family Housing Renovations
Lambton is now 45 years old, and recent VFA studies have shown a need for significant infrastructure work that includes: HVAC, mechanical, electrical, elevator, interior stairs and guards, all common area window replacement (room windows have been replaced), all interior doors and frames require replacement to meet Building Code, fire alarm upgrades and panel replacement. Lambton Renovation Scope of Work SHS retained Thier + Curran Architects Inc (TCA) to produce a report on proposed renovations to Lambton Hall as follows: Renovations to the existing residence rooms to accommodate demand for suite style accommodation; Renovations to existing communal washrooms to provide increased privacy; Refurbishment of most shared spaces, hallways and stairwells. Additionally SHS reviewed the VFA findings to determine the critical work required in the next ten years. VFA identified deficiencies which are normally categorized and prioritized for completion over a defined timeframe. Given the extent of the proposed renovation, it made sense to incorporate the critical priorities into the planned renovation. Proposal In the past large scale building renovations on residence halls have taken place over multiple years due to the short window of opportunity available (May through August) and the need to maintain occupancy and revenue streams. Consequently, renovations have taken years to complete (e.g. Lennox Addington was spread over 6 years). The proposed renovation to Lambton Hall is both ambitious and aggressive in nature. It is proposed that the project be accelerated by removing Lambton from the housing inventory for the period of May 2013 August 2014. This 15 month period would allow for the complete renovation and redesign of the building, effectively creating a new residence hall with a lifespan of 25+ years. The renovated building would meet the needs of aesthetic renewal; occupancy choices of traditional or suite style accommodation; enhanced privacy of washrooms, making the building truly gender neutral housing; and providing future flexibility and design attractive to changing student demographics (e.g., grad students, transfer students, international students). The redesign maximizes the use of the space and minimizes the loss of bed-space (a reduction of 41), which is critical for the business model. Currently occupancy in Lambton is distributed as: singles (4); doubles (414); apartments (7) for a total of 425 individuals. The proposed renovation would see the distribution as: single suites 5 Lambton Hall and Family Housing Renovations
(12); double suites (70); double rooms (280); triple suites (15); apartments (7) for a total occupancy of 384 people. Design The TCA design features the creation of suite style accommodation (1 and 2 bedroom) on the first and second floors. The suites are comprised of private bedrooms, a shared 3 piece washroom, and a small kitchen that allows for microwave and fridge, enabling occupants to prepare small meals. All suites feature an entry door with a window to the corridor to encourage community interaction. 6 Lambton Hall and Family Housing Renovations
7 Lambton Hall and Family Housing Renovations
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Significant demand exists for double accommodation on campus, therefore, SHS requested the architect to maintain floor 3 & 4 as double accommodation. The rooms will be renewed and built in furniture will be replaced with contemporary residence furniture that permits students to personalize their living space and offers some degree of privacy for the occupants. Such a design will enable SHS to construct super single accommodation in the future if student demographics change. 9 Lambton Hall and Family Housing Renovations
A major goal of this project is to increase the student to washroom ratios and to create private washroom facilities. The architect has presented designs that take existing common washroom facilities and redesigned them to create private 3 piece washrooms (toilet, sink, shower). Since each washroom is self-contained and private there is no need for male/female designations, thereby eliminating gender differences in washroom ratios. Currently the average washroom loading is 1:8. Under the new design washroom loading is 1:6 on the third and fourth floors. Research supports that community interaction and engagement of residence students (despite their academic program level) leads to higher satisfaction of their university experience and progression toward their academic goals. The renewal of Lambton will include updates to existing lounges and the creation of a central lounge on the second floor that will encourage students to spend time outside of their rooms interacting with their floor-mates. 10 Lambton Hall and Family Housing Renovations
Cost The total project cost for Lambton Hall is $11.7M. The breakdown is: $3.8M for the first and second floor suite conversions as reflected in the Strategic Vision document; $2.4M for the third and fourth floor washroom conversions; and $5.5M for renovations of all common areas, elevator up-grades, mechanical and electrical renewal as identified in the VFA building assessment out ten years. Lambton would therefore be equivalent to new residence construction. When compared to new construction costs as reported by McMaster University and Western University, costs were $83K to $100K per bed. The Lambton Hall renovation is projected to be at $30.5K per bed. Implications to SHS Given the ambitious scope of work involved in transforming Lambton Hall from traditional style of residence accommodation to what can be described as a hybrid of the traditional style, it is necessary to remove Lambton from the existing inventory of residence space for the 2013-2014 year. This would amount to not only a temporary revenue loss to the department but also reduce the available space for students during the 2013-2014 academic year. SHS intends to minimize the loss of bed spaces by: 11 Lambton Hall and Family Housing Renovations
1. Creating a mixed use community at 78 College Ave, presently providing largely student family accommodation. This would create an additional 45 beds for upper year students. 2. Re-distributing approximately 80 beds throughout the residence system making use of temporary expansion space on a permanent basis for the academic year. 3. Initiating the construction before Macdonald Hall is removed from our inventory. 4. Permitting entering year students to reside in the Village Townhouses. Making it Happen Renovation to 78 College Avenue The SHS strategic vision calls for the creation of residence space that is attractive to upper year students. Rather than build new space, SHS recommends re-purposing space from its existing inventory. Upper year students prefer a sense of greater independence than is provided or perceived within traditional residence accommodation. SHS recommends re-developing 78 College Ave into a mixed purpose community housing student families and undergraduates beyond first year. SHS plans include renovating 35 townhouses located in blocks L and P to become 3 bedroom townhouses for undergrads. Given the significant stock of housing available in the city, there is capacity at 78 College Avenue for undergraduate students, as families are increasingly finding accommodation offcampus. Wellington Woods would continue to focus on family housing, and continue to provide strong programming that is attractive particularly to international students. 12 Lambton Hall and Family Housing Renovations
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*It should be noted that the above diagrams reflect flexibility for accommodation by single students and by families. The proposed first floor plan in the center is for unit occupied by undergraduate students showing a bedroom on first floor. The first floor plan on right is for a unit occupied by a family and shows a living/dining room with no bedroom on first floor. This represents differing building code requirement based on occupant type. Renovations to these existing townhouses will include the construction of a third bedroom to increase capacity. TCA has produced drawings and plans that will allow SHS flexibility into the future to deal with changing student demographics, namely the ability to restore the units to family accommodation if needed in the future. Also included in the renovation is the creation of additional community space. It is anticipated in the strategic vision that if needed, future expansion and renovations could be made to the townhouses in blocks G and K. The projected cost of the renovation to 78 College Avenue is $.525M. It should be noted that this renovation (added capacity and revenue) is needed in order for the Lambton project to move ahead. 15 Lambton Hall and Family Housing Renovations
Financials SHS reviewed several financial models including spreading the work over multiple years, various residence fee increases, and limiting or deferring any other housing capital projects over the next three years. The financial proposal below is based on fee increases of 4.5/4.5/3.0% over the next three years taking into account our current fees and our positioning against our comparator universities (currently we stand at 5th for both single and doubles rooms). Additionally SHS has elected to continue along our aggressive aesthetic renewal of our residences and continue with the capital projects and VFA requirements. The SHS financial model also includes the use of $7.1M from cumulative surplus in 2013/14, adjustments to our 5 year rolling capital plan (as previously approved by the Board). It should be noted that SHS financials still show a positive cumulative surplus going forward. Additionally, this project creates new residence space to cover those spaces lost from the transfer of Macdonald Hall, and allows SHS to transfer Macdonald Hall to the University in May 2014. 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2020/21 Key Attributes: (in millions) Total Renovation Costs $17.3 $7.6 $6.5 $5.9 Debt Financing $8.0 $3.4 $3.4 $2.0 Room Rate Increase 4.5% 4.5% 3.0% 3.0% Lambton Bed Spaces (425) (41) (41) (41) 78 College Bed Spaces +45 +45 +45 +45 Statement of Operations Revenue Single Student Fees $28.0 $27.9 $28.7 $33.3 Less: Lambton Effect (2.1) (.222) (.228) (.265) Add: 78 College Effect.021.228.234.272 Other Revenue 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 Total Revenue $30.6 $32.6 $33.4 $38.0 Expense Personnel $5.6 $5.8 $6.0 $7.1 Operating & 13.6 13.5 14.0 16.6 Institutional Renovation Expense 9.4 3.6 2.4 3.9 Debt Servicing 7.7 8.0 8.5 9.0 Transfers/Other 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 Expense Total Expense $37.7 $32.4 $32.3 $38.0 Total Annual Rev/Exp $(7.1) $.19 $1.1.009 Cumulative Surplus $2.4 $2.6 $3.6 $2.5 16 Lambton Hall and Family Housing Renovations