R&DE Student Housing, which manages 5 million square feet of Stanford buildings, spent roughly $50 million on undergraduate and graduate housing renovations this summer. The renovations included improvements to student comfort, energy and water efficiency, health and safety.

Over 250 projects were completed in the past year, 50 of which were completed over the summer. The most significant renovations were completed in small group houses including Haus Mitteleuropa, Slavianskii Dom, Phi Sig, Hammarskjold and Synergy.

The projects on these houses involved removing existing fire escapes, building new staircases, replacing doors and windows and renovating bathrooms. In Hammarskjold, new rooms and a lounge space were added in a newly constructed wing on the right-hand side of the building. The Synergy and Slavianskii Dom kitchens were remodeled.

“We try to group the small projects so as to achieve multiple goals while working in one location – such as replacing mechanical equipment with a roof, or carpet with paint,” Rodger Whitney, executive director of R&DE Student Housing, wrote in an email to The Daily. “Other projects arise out of needs which occur during the year, including issues raised by residents.”

For example, renovations in the Cluster One and Cowell Cluster houses were grouped together for convenience. Upgrades at the Terra, Pi Beta Phi, ZAP and Kappa Alpha Theta houses were completed between Aug. 20 and Sept. 15.

“The roof replacement being undertaken at each site will enhance student safety and comfort,” according to an R&DE Student Housing report on the construction projects.

On West Campus, a similar project was completed to improve the roofs of Kappa Sigma, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, 680 Lomita and Theta Delta Chi houses. This group of renovations was the last to be completed over the summer, ending on Sept. 17.

“Stern Hall was a great example of a location with a convergence of projects,” Whitney said. “[The construction] included roof replacements for the residential wings and dining hall, mechanical systems replacement for the dining hall, some servery remodeling, a kitchen elevator replacement, fire alarm system replacement, resident fellow apartment upgrades…  lounge upgrades and new carpet[ing].”

Wilbur Hall received the fourth and final phase of its renovations with changes to the Junipero and Okada dormitories. The renovations included new computing wiring and other electrical improvements, new fire sprinklers, remodeled restrooms, new carpet and fresh paint.

Graduate student housing renovations include the ninth phase of the Escondido Village project, which included the update of six low-rise apartment buildings this summer. New carpeting was installed, fresh paint applied and windows and doors were replaced with energy-efficient fixtures. Whitney said that this initiative for graduate student housing renovations will continue next year and will include modifications to the McFarland mid-rise in Escondido Village.

Future renovations plans include renovations in Florence Moore Hall to the dining hall kitchen, bathrooms, common areas and RF apartments, as well as potential kitchen renovations in Kairos and 717 Dolores during the summer of 2013.