50-year-old apartments to be demolished Summer ‘09

Written by Caitlin White

Monday, 23 February 2009 18:48

The University of Wyoming’s oldest apartment buildings will be torn down this summer and the upcoming school year. The university currently has no plans for replacement housing.

The Summit View Apartments were constructed in multiple phases more than 50 years ago. The apartment buildings were built and designed to house and support the increasingly large numbers of non-traditional students and their families during the post-World War II era.

These buildings are one and two bedroom apartments and still house UW students. The apartments are located in UW’s east campus directly east of War Memorial Stadium.

“The apartments were inexpensively built and have outlived their useful life in a variety of ways,” Beth McCuskey, executive director of UW’s Residence Life and Dining Services, said.

The buildings have no insulation and only have single-paned windows, McCuskey said. She said the apartments are also difficult to maintain because of their age.

The university will remove the Summit View Apartments in two phases. The first phase will take place this summer and will remove one-third of the apartments. The second phase will tear down the other two-thirds of the apartment buildings next summer, McCuskey said.

Three blocks of apartments are scheduled for removal beginning in late June, Summit View Apartments 189-288. The remaining Summit View Apartments are tentatively scheduled for removal during the summer of 2010.

“At this stage of the process, no firm decisions have been made about replacement housing,” McCuskey said.

UW is working with a consulting team to determine the long-range plan for the entire east campus.

Of the 95 apartments scheduled for removal, 75 still house tenants. UW students still living in the Summit View units have been informed of the intentions to close the apartments, and McCuskey said the current tenants will be given first priority for all available UW apartments.

McCuskey said the Residence Life and Dining Hall Services’ goal is to be as supportive of their student tenants as possible. UW will make every effort to house those students who wish to stay in the UW apartments past next summer, but will also be supportive if students find off-campus housing to meet their needs, McCuskey said.

“We understand that the quality of their housing can make a difference to their education and we are working hard to mitigate any challenges as they arise,” McCuskey said.

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