By Cole Hatcher
Donor and grant-funded work is underway at Ohio Wesleyan University to continue improving the residential campus for OWU students.
The university is transforming former office space and student housing at 4 Williams Drive to create an on-campus hub that will feature billiards, duckpin bowling, outdoor basketball and sand volleyball courts, patio spaces, and pub food and beverages.
Named “The 1842” in honor of Ohio Wesleyan’s founding, the hub is expected to open to students in the fall. It is being funded by anonymous lead donors and a gift from the estate of the late Richard and LaVerne Rowland of Elk Grove, California. Richard Rowland, Ph.D., was a 1951 Ohio Wesleyan graduate.
In addition to The 1842, Ohio Wesleyan also is improving its 200-acre campus with the long-planned demolition of Bashford Hall, an outdated and vacant residential hall constructed in 1956.
The university is funding the demolition with a $337,460 grant from the Ohio Department of Development’s Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program. In Delaware County, applications to the state program are managed by the Delaware County Land Bank, which seeks to help the community address properties that have fallen out of productive use. The university plans to begin demolition in mid-May and complete the work on or before June 30. There are no current plans to develop the site.
Both projects continue residential campus improvements that have included opening Bradford Milligan Hall, a 124-bed senior student apartment complex; renovating Smith Hall and Trott Tower to create a first-year student village; and building a new Honors House, House of Black Culture, and three small living unit “SLUplexes” on Rowland Avenue. OWU’s small living units house up to a dozen students each who are interested in a common issue, such as the environment, community service, or interfaith issues.
“Demolishing Bashford Hall represents more than just the removal of a facility that has surpassed its useful lifespan; it’s a vital strategic investment in our future,” said President Matt vandenBerg, Ed.D.
“By reclaiming this site, we clear the way for a vibrant new green space, a place where we will build community and enjoy recreation together,” vandenBerg said. “This project also enables us to reallocate precious resources toward our core mission and toward fulfilling our long-range plan to renew the residential corridor.
“We’re also thrilled to launch The 1842, a vibrant hub students have long desired, for convenient fun, relationship building, and recreation—and a space that brings OWU’s storied ‘work hard-play hard’ vibe to fuller life,” vandenBerg said. “We are thankful to our donors and to the state and county, including the Land Bank, for their support to keep OWU moving forward.”
Learn more about student life on the Ohio Wesleyan campus at owu.edu/student-life.
Source, Images: OWU; Renderings by Calhoun Studio
