As given away by the orange construction tape scattered about Mills Law, Rollins College is undergoing some major renovations.
In addition to the work being done on Mills and the Alfond Sports Complex, Rollins is also in the beginning stages of building a brand new structure for the Child Development and Student Research Center, or CDC.
According to Vice President for Business and Finance and Treasurer Jeff Eisenbarth, “Mills is receiving a much-needed new roof, new windows and new paint. It has been 50 years and all of these items are required maintenance to maintain the integrity of the building.”
As for the Alfond Sports Complex, it is simply receiving a new paint job.
Students have been concerned about the impact the construction might have on their ability to get to class, but Eisenbarth assures that it will benefit everyone in the long run.
“The impact on the students continues to be to provide facilities that meet the needs of the students and maintaining the integrity and investment in existing facilities,” he said.
Finances should not be an issue for the construction.
“The work is being paid for by the annual capital funding that is part of the annual operating budget,” said Eisenbarth.
Rollins is currently completing all of the on campus construction in accordance with the Campus Master Plan and five-year facility.
“They look forward five years and identify the required maintenance, renovations and renewal of campus facilities,” said Eisenbarth.
An even larger project will soon be underway on campus. Rollins is in the process of tearing down the College Arms building, located diagonally across the street from Strong Hall, in order to construct a brand new 5,050 SF building that will house the Child Development and Student Research Center.
“The CDC is an academic program of the College and has been operating with insufficient facilities for quite a long time. We received gifts to build a new CDC,” said Eisenbarth.
According to City Manager of Winter Park Randy Knight, the college was given the green light on the CDC project once they received a conditional use approval from the city which passed 5-0.
Though this is one of the biggest upcoming projects, the campus will see many other renovations.
Eisenbarth said, “Additional upcoming projects include a new bookstore, new campus event pavilion, Holt Hall interior renovation, Alfond Boathouse renovation, Sutton Place upgrades, McKean Hall renovations, Cornell Social Sciences interior HVAC improvements…and baseball stadium improvements, to mention a few.”
In regards to the property that Rollins recently bought next to the Orlando Avenue Walgreens, the City of Winter Park will be purchasing it.
“The college intends to sell that property to the City of Winter Park who will, in turn, use the land to expand MLK Park,” said President Grant Cornwell.
Looking forward, Cornwell commented, “This summer we will continue to renovate residence halls on the schedule that has been established.”
The renovations and constructions are part of Rollins commitment to campus upkeep and expansion.
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