Maple Hall, home to 520 students, will be empty during the 1998-99 school year.

Wednesday, the state Board of Regents approved a $13.9 million remodeling project for Maple Hall, which will shut down the building for the year.

The project involves “major remodeling,” Scott Sankey, assistant university architect, said. “What they’re looking at is a total renovation of the building.”

Randy Alexander, director of residence, said Maple’s exterior facade needed immediate repair, and since the building will be closed, officials decided to take the opportunity to renovate individual rooms, as well.

“In order to [repair the exterior], we have to be closed for nine months anyway, so we might as well renovate the whole building,” he said.

Because the building will be out of service for an entire school year, many students returning to the residence hall will need to find new housing.

“Some people will be displaced, but the women will all have rooms,” said Kim Araya, Maple’s hall director.

Alexander said the residence halls “can still accommodate” all students who want to live on campus.

“I don’t think it will be much worse than last year,” he said.

At the beginning of this semester, 40 women briefly lived in floor dens. Alexander said more people may go into temporary housing during fall 1998.

He said more space will be created by decreasing the number of singles rooms, specifically doubles rooms being used as singles.

“We won’t have as many doubles-as-singles,” he said, but smaller rooms designed as singles will be unaffected.

The current residents of Maple Hall probably will be given priority housing preferences during the spring, Alexander said, although plans have not been finalized. After all residents can preference to stay in their rooms, Maple residents will most likely be allowed to preference into other halls, and then other students can preference to move.

“If all 520 women want to stay [on campus], they’re not going to be out on the street,” Araya said.

Alexander said officials first discussed closing Maple for renovations last February, but the project wasn’t finalized until the Board of Regents voted on it Wednesday.

“You never know until the regents approve it,” he said.

A Maple Hall resident said she has been hearing about the impending remodeling for a while.

“It was rumored at the beginning of the semester,” said Mikaela Vandewater, junior in elementary education and third-year Maple resident. “Tuesday night, we heard that [the regents] would vote yes.”

Vandewater said she was not surprised by the formal announcement because workers have been in and around the building all semester.

Although she won’t be affected by the closing because she’s planning on moving off-campus, Vandewater said she and her friends are sympathetic toward the other women in the hall.

“We feel bad for the people who were planning on living here next year,” she said.

Correctional work planned for the hall includes replacement of the heating and cooling system, replacement of the roofing and roof insulation system, and window and exterior wall panel repair.

Other improvements for Maple include renovation of the hall director’s apartment, reconstruction of the shower and restroom facilities and installation of a convenience store.`