Thousands of Aggies have passed through Texas A&M’s Corps of Cadets dorms since before World War II, but now the Quad is targeted for a nearly $200 million dollar renovation project, which is scheduled to renovate all 12 dorms by August 2017.
Will Schrank, assistant commandant of logistics, said the renovations will eventually encompass the entire Quad. Three dorms and two Leadership Learning Centers are complete and five more dorms will be renovated during the 2015-2016 school year. The remaining four will be finished during the 2016-2017 school year. Two more LLCs will be constructed in 2015. The Quad’s interior will also be re-paved and re-landscaped.
“All 12 dorms on the Quad are being gutted and completely renovated to include new plumbing, electrical and HVAC [heating, ventilation and air conditioning],” Schrank said.
Schrank said the four LLCs will be the largest changes to the Quad. Each will be 25,000 square feet of study rooms, computer labs and other educational facilities. The construction was made possible due to donations from former cadets.
Jessica Knowles, modern languages sophomore and cadet, said the renovations will be a welcome change.
“I like the old dorms but at the same time it will be good for upcoming classes to have the new dorms,” Knowles said. “They will have their own laundromats, which will be super handy. It’s just the new style of the new dorms, in the rooms, they are oriented differently than the old Corps dorms, which is really weird.”
David Trigg, Corps commander, said the transition will be difficult but the Corps is prepared for the move.
“Changing locations for any organization is difficult, for corporations or organizations,” Trigg said. “But the central mission of the Corps of Cadets for shaping leaders and developing well-educated leaders of character will remain the same. We have built in processes and put in the time this semester and previous semesters to prepare for this transition so we’ll still be able to achieve our central mission for the Corps of Cadets.”
Knowles said the exterior will look similar post-renovation, but the interior will be unrecognizable to former students.
“A lot of old Ags come and visit, and the dorms haven’t changed at all,” Knowles said. “The smell is the same, a lot of them walk in and say, ‘Dear God it smells the same.’ So for new faces and new times, nothing will change. Just old Ags who come by won’t recognize the place anymore.”
Students whose dorms are being renovated during the 2015-2016 school year will reside in Aston and Dunn Halls in the Commons, Schrank said.
Knowles said Corps members are tentative about the shift of some Corps housing into the Commons.
“It’s kind of terrifying to do Corps shenanigans inside the Commons,” Knowles said. “We can’t really fathom it. A lot of my class and buddies have talked about it and we are very curious as to how training will occur near and in where non-regs live. I don’t actually even know what the Commons look like.”
Schrank said some Corps movement will be affected by the renovations. Outfits will have to modify their drill locations, and the Corps as a whole will need to change their march routes to Duncan and to Kyle Field.
Timothy Broderick, Residence Hall Association president, said the Quad’s renovation has been handled largely with the Office of the Commandant. Broderick said while the changes may cause some chaos in the short term, it is important for both the Corps and the campus in the long term.
Broderick said the construction is an annoyance, but an unavoidable one.
“It is going to be complicated, but the benefit of all the construction being completed in a short time is you don’t have that lingering effect,” Broderick said. “One of the things when trying to decide whether to do all of them or just a few dorms every year, you are going to have that construction there anyway, you are going to have all those trucks and equipment renovating these dorms — just do it all in one shot.”
Trigg said the renovations will hold a lasting impact for both the Corps and the Quad.
“The attitude is this: It has to happen,” Trigg said. “There isn’t any animosity toward the decision, we just know that by making that sacrifice and kind of changing our operation procedure for a short two years we will provide an environment that will make the Quad better forever.”