Duke to start Central Campus renovations

Though the recession has brought a halt to new large-scale building projects at Duke, the university is moving forward with some renovations on its lackluster Central Campus.

The university is adding an eatery and common space, two measures aimed at increasing social interaction, campus officials say.

Work will start this summer and cost between $12 million and $15 million. Those funds will come from housing receipts, officials say.

Not that long ago, Duke officials had hoped and expected to be further along in planning and starting the first phase of a new campus along Campus Drive that would house undergraduates and provide new homes for some departments in the humanities.

But the recession has put the stop to that, at least temporarily. But renovations to the existing Central Campus, where 800 undergrads and 200 graduate students live, are still needed since students will still be living there for the foreseeable future, said Michael Schoenfeld, a campus spokesman.

"It's more than a Band-Aid and less than substantial," Schoenfeld said in characterizing this summer's renovation work. "We're still going forward with the planning for the new campus. In the meantime, we have [1,000] people living on Central Campus. They need a more coherent campus. We want to make it a better experience for everybody."

This summer's plans include renovating and relocating Uncle Harry's Store, a Central Campus convenience store. In its place, Duke is putting in a new dining hall with indoor and outdoor seating. Also, the university plans to renovate a series of nearby mill houses to provide a workout room and study and meeting spaces, according to a university news release.

Housing on Central Campus consists of two-story apartments built in the 1970s that don't exactly set a student's heart aflutter with their amenities or perks. Next summer, Duke plans to upgrade the apartments, officials say.

Like other universities, Duke is struggling to deal with the weak economy. It recently announced plans to reduce its workforce by 700 positions, part of an attempt to shave $125 million from its annual operating budget.

Planned construction projects, including the new campus along Campus Drive, are also on hold, though the university is still moving forward with planning and expects to break ground eventually. The new campus is expected to be built slowly over at least two decades.