$10.6 million transformation of
business college’s home on schedule
KINGSTON, R.I. – December 6, 2002 – The $10.6 million transformation of the University of Rhode Island’s Ballentine Hall has reached two milestones; the exterior is complete and the building is now enclosed.
In addition, the windows are in, the granite façade is done, the curved roofs, and exterior architectural elements are complete for the atrium and the addition.
In short, workers proceed on schedule and on budget to complete the project.
When completed next June, Ballentine will welcome back the URI College of Business Administration. Built in 1967 on the northwest corner of the Quadrangle, the original 46,750-square-foot, three-story Ballentine Hall was stripped to its steel frame and floor slabs. With the 5,300-square-foot addition and total rehabilitation of the original structure, Ballentine will be transformed into a state-of-the art facility
The steel framing inside the building is done and most of the drywall has been installed. Painters have finished much of the interior of the atrium. The computer laboratory and walls on the second floor are painted. Most of the doors’ frames are installed.
The two, tiered classrooms on the first floor are taking shape, while the dean’s suite, which includes a spacious conference room overlooking the Quadrangle, the dean’s office, and a small kitchen, are structurally complete.
Individual heating and cooling units have been installed in many faculty offices, and some preliminary landscaping work has been done.
“As the time gets closer to returning to Ballentine, there is an excitement on the part of our students, the faculty and the business community about the new opportunities we will face by being able to teach all of our courses using the latest technology,” said Edward Mazze, dean of the college and the Alfred J. Verrecchia-Hasbro Inc. Leadership Chair in Business. “Many members of the business community who have donated to the Shareholders Campaign have volunteered to bring their expertise to our classes by serving as visiting executives-in-residence. We have already received requests from outside organizations about holding meetings in Ballentine.”
Site preparation work for the addition’s foundation and underground utilities began in July 2001. Demolition of the original structure began Nov. 1, 2001. Steel framework for the new wing of Ballentine Hall was completed last January.
The project is being funded by $5.6 million in private donations raised through the University’s Shareholders Campaign, with $5 million coming from Rhode Island bond issues and URI asset protection funds.
The atrium will be named in honor of Alfred J. Verrecchia, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from URI, and is president and chief operating officer of Hasbro Inc. Hasbro and Verrecchia donated a combined $1.5 million to support the building campaign and endow the first chair in the college. The addition will be named in honor of former Cranston and Providence resident Vincent A. Sarni, a 1949 accounting graduate of the former Rhode Island State College. The former chief executive officer of PPG Industries made a $1 million donation to the campaign.
Berkshire Construction Services of East Greenwich is the general contractor, and architects responsible for the new design are Saccoccio Associates of Cranston and Goody Clancy & Associates, Boston, Mass.
For a digital image of the Ballentine Hall project, please contact Nancy Gillespie at 874-2116.