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Nicholls State University’s Calecas Hall is moving on up – from the 1970s to 2012.
“Calecas Hall is now in line with all the amenities that our other residence halls offer,” said Hayward Guenard, director of housing at Nicholls. “We have taken the building and given it a new facelift and feel. We want quality for our students.”
Currently, the hall, located on the corner of Ardoyne and Acadia drives, houses the university’s police department. Once renovations are complete, the building will house 100 residents at two students per unit.
Nicholls has the capacity to house 1,542 students in its seven halls.
“This semester, we have a little over 1,200 students in our residence halls, and we usually have about 1,400 in the fall,” Guenard said. “The spring semester is normally lower than the fall.”
The latest updates to the 40-year-old building include new windows, exterior siding and furniture, including wardrobes and moveable, stackable beds; new drainage and patios; refurbished floors, walls and plumbing; and amenities including barbeque pits and a game room.
“The moveable and stackable furniture will allow the residents to sort of design their own floor plan for their rooms,” Guenard said. “There is a built in desk in the room that is not moveable and would have cost too much to remove. We also offer amenities such as barbeque pits and a game room at our other residence halls.”
Over the past few years, the building has also been outfitted with a new roof, floors and siding. These latest renovations mark the end of a complete overhaul.
“Everything is new, except what you can’t see, like the wall studs,” he said, laughing.
Even the hall’s grounds have been cleaned up and landscaped and include the removal of old trees and picnic tables will be located in the building’s courtyard.
Participants in this summer’s Manning Passing Academy, a football camp for high school students set for July 12-15, will be the first guests in the newly refurbished building.
“The building is one of our two break dorms, where international students and athletes can stay during the semester breaks or the summer,” Guenard said. “The new Calecas Hall will be a modern, comfortable facility in every sense of the word, and we are quite excited as work nears completion. I’m certain that our residents will be more than satisfied with their surroundings.”
Renovation to the building totaled $911,000, and was funded by the Nicholls Facilities Corporation and the Nicholls Office of Auxiliary Services.
Hayward Guenard gives a tour of the renovations of Calecas Hall on the Nicholls campus. (Photo by MIsty Leigh McElroy/Nicholls State University)
