Texas A&M University to undertake major restoration of two historic buildings

These upgrades are in-line with university’s endeavor to combine restoration of existing facilities when feasible with the addition of new facilities as needed.

The Jack. K. Williams Building is located at the formal entrance to the university. The upgraded building will feature the office of the president along with the offices of four vice presidents and several associated offices. Currently, the building accommodates the offices for the vice president for research and graduate studies.

The regents have approved $11.37 million for the upgrade at the Williams Building, which will be completed by October 2014. The four-storey building includes more than 68,000 square feet of floor space, and was named after the late Jack K. Williams, who served as president of the university from 1970 until 1977.

The three-storey Scoates Hall has approximately 67,613 square feet of floor space. Post upgrade, the building will house classrooms for a variety of academic departments, the Center for Heritage Conservation, Center for Health Systems and Design, the Hazards Reduction and Recovery Center, the Center for Housing and Urban Development and the Institute for Applied Creativity — all part of the College of Architecture.

Scoates Hall upgrades are expected to cost almost $10.6 million, with the renovation work completed by November 2014. The building bears the name of Daniel Scoates, who was a member of the agricultural engineering faculty and served as department head in the 1920-30 era.

The regents also authorised funding of $15.45 million for the third phase of a 12-year plan to renovate the 12 dormitories where members of the Corps of Cadets are housed. In addition to rebuilding one of the dorms to accommodate 220 cadets, the newest phase of the project will include construction of an adjacent leadership learning centre, which will replace a small outdated lounge. The 12 dorms in the Corps of Cadets area were built in the 1930s. The first dorm renovation in the Corps area was completed in 2012 and also included a leadership learning centre, with another dorm renovation currently underway.