URI building work continues

By Patrick Anderson
PBN Staff Writer

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Construction and design work on $192 million in building projects, including a new $75 million pharmacy building slated to in May, is under way at the University of Rhode Island’s main campus.

The latest building to go vertical is the new $42 million Hillside Hall dormitory on the south side of the campus, which is designed to accommodate 429 students and open next fall.

Masonry and steel framing for the five-story building, which rises from an old granite quarry, is in place, the school said in a news release. The new dormitory is intended to function as the gateway to URI’s undergraduate housing complex.

Construction of the new 142,000-square-foot pharmacy building in the north campus is “essentially complete,” the release said, and a ribbon cutting is scheduled May 4. The project was extended to include a $6 million manufacturing laboratory in the five-story building.

Also on campus, design work has been completed on the planned $11 million conversion of the Roger Williams dining hall into a new student wellness center with exercise facilities and activities areas.

Design work has also been finished on a new $70 million chemistry building planned near the Chafee Social Science Center. Construction is slated to start next summer for a completion date of Sept. 2014.

Other projects under planning include the $3 million expansion of Butterfield Dining Hall, a $3 million student athlete development center and $1.4 million resurfacing at the Mackal Field House.