Building needs estimated $15 million in renovations
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Hamilton College has sat at the corner of Pickens and Pendleton streets since 1943 but has received few improvements since.
The 69-year-old building, which houses the anthropology department, is one of USC’s largest deferred maintenance projects, estimated to cost the university $15 million to repair.
Anthropology Undergraduate Coordinator Claudia Carriere has either been a student or has worked at Hamilton College since 1996, and she said the building has “too many issues” including mold, lead paint and asbestos.
The electrical system also needs improvement because the current system can’t handle extra electricity or the fuses will blow, Carriere said. In addition, the water in Hamilton is unsafe to drink due to contamination, so those who use the building must drink from a stand-alone water cooler.
Cat Keegan, the anthropology graduate coordinator, said the building has been in the same condition for the 12 years she has worked in Hamilton.
Keegan has a perpetual sinus infection because of the building’s mold problem. Carriere also frequently gets sinus infections because of the building’s condition. If she doesn’t treat the infections, the sickness turns into bronchitis.
“Right now I’ve been on antibiotics for two months trying to clear up a sinus infection,” Carriere said. “And of course the minute I go off the antibiotics, whatever’s in here is going to do this again.”
The single air conditioning unit in her office window is filled with mold, and she said every time she turns it on, the unit blows out mold spores.
The building is on a steam heat system, which works in some rooms and not in others, according to Keegan. A part of the steam heat system under the building is broken, which contributes to the mold problem, Carriere said, adding there is too much asbestos surrounding the problem area for anyone to access and fix it.
Due to the nature of anthropology, archaeologists are entrusted by cultural groups and other countries with artifacts, but dehumidifiers must be installed to protect the artifacts housed in Hamilton from mold and flooding on the first floor, Carriere said.
The first floor of Hamilton has also been experiencing a rodent problem, Carriere said. Rats have been eating the glue off cardboard boxes, and rat droppings have been found on boxes as well.
Some efforts are made periodically to improve the building, like adding fresh paint.
“We get little Band-Aid fixes a lot,” Keegan said.
Carriere was once told some cracked windows were going to be fixed, but instead of actual repairs, masking tape and plastic were used to address the problem.
Hamilton College has three classrooms that are full all day, the largest of which holds 52 students and the smallest 42, Keegan said.
The anthropology department at one time included the sociology department and has been housed in Hamilton for more than 39 years, according to Keegan.
Hamilton College was initially built as a facility for the Naval ROTC with classroom space and an adjoining armory, according to the university’s website. The website said the building was named for former South Carolina Gov. Paul Hamilton, who was also the U.S. Secretary of the Navy from 1809 to 1812 according to sciway.net.
In addition to the Naval ROTC, Hamilton College housed the school of engineering and V-12 program, according to “A History of the University of South Carolina” by Henry Lesesne.
The V-12 program started in 1943 and operated for three years, training 650 students on active duty per term, according to Lesesne’s book. These students earned full university credit in the program, which took two-and-a-half years to complete.
A budget for the contracts, materials, labor and other costs associated with the Naval building was presented at the May 5, 1942, board of trustees meeting and estimated the total cost of the building at $204,128.
Of the total cost, the Work Projects Administration contributed $134,995, and USC was responsible for the remaining $69,133. The WPA “provided jobs to unemployed workers on public projects sponsored by federal, state or local agencies,” according to archives.gov.
The $204,128 cost of the building in 1942 would equal about $2.9 million today according to an inflation calculator tool provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
The $2.9 million the building would have hypothetically cost today is almost $12 million less than the amount the building has accumulated in deferred maintenance.
The project to refurbish Hamilton includes plans to renovate “the wing of the building parallel with Pendleton Street and add an additional floor in the gymnasium,” according to a presentation delivered to the board of trustees building and grounds committee Friday. The plans show the project extending until at least 2014, and the renovation is intended to enable the consolidation of the College of Social Work.
Dan Stanford, a fourth-year anthropology student, said he loves anthropology and thinks everyone else should, but he thinks it’s below the radar because people don’t know what anthropologists do. He added that “Bones” is a popular TV show in which the main character is an anthropologist.
“Anthropology makes contributions to history, English, biology, and then we’re stuck over here in a corner,” Stanford said. “I pay the exact same amount as every other student, and I’m put in this.”