Wicomico Hall was constructed in 1951 and is located on the east side of the Quad. The building has four floor levels, a basement and 3 upper levels, housing 78 new students.  It has exterior brick walls, concrete floors and interior columns, and a sloped slate roof with traditional dormer windows.  The building is a co-educational facility with a suite style design alternating male and female students, on a suite-by-suite basis.  The main entrance level is between the lower two floors; and a new entrance stair and limited use/limited accessibility ‘LULA’ elevator, makes both levels equally accessible.

An important renovation goal was to organize the entrance space and lounge areas to encourage greater use of the lower basement level by creating an inviting accessible social gathering space that fosters community development to encourage better social interaction among the residents.   Thus, glass railings and a two story lounge area to better link the lower two floors, are important building features.  The building fully supports SU’s belief in the educational and social effectiveness of living/learning communities of shared academic interests; that have been shown to increase learning retention and graduation rates that last beyond the freshman year.  The classroom can accommodate 25 students, LLC residents participating in living learning communities have at least one class per week in the building; and is available for off-hours, individual or group study.   Both the classroom and the lounge areas, have large LCD HDMI TVs that support both educational and recreational uses. The lounge area has a media equipment cabinet to accommodate HD audio visual entertainment equipment.  A portion of the lounge has a convertible pool table that converts to a ping-pong table.  The lower level also has a community kitchen and male and female guest toilets that meet ADA specifications. 

The typical suite arrangement is two, two person rooms sharing a central bathroom with private toilet and private shower.  Each student has one internet connection and each bedroom has a cable TV outlet.  Should a room resident request, the Residence Life Office will have their bed assembled in a loft arrangement. 

The laundry room has internet connected dryers and washers with automatic injected detergent dispensers. Students can determine from their rooms which machines are available, and be notified by text when their laundry has been completed.  The machines are energy star rated HE (high efficiency) equipment.  This is a no card/no coin system activated by adjusting setting then touching the start button as one would at home.  The vending room has internet connected machines that take either cash or SU Gull Cards.

The building has new HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems and is SU’s second geothermally heated and cooled building.  To ensure a healthy living environment, fresh air is delivered to the building via energy recovery units which both save energy and remove humidity from supplied outside air.  An environmentally friendly carpet-like sheet flooring made from recycled material, is used in the private bedrooms, corridors and public areas.  Wicomico Hall has obtained LEED GOLD certification.

The architect for the renovation is Grimm+Parker of Calverton, MD; the mechanical/electrical engineer is Gipe Associates of Easton, MD; and the General Contractor is Nason Construction of Salisbury, MD.

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