Virginia Tech has approved $7.5 million of repairs to a residence hall on the Blacksburg campus that flooded last year.
The Roanoke Times reports that the university will carry out the repairs in Slusher Hall even though the long-term plans call for the facility to be demolished.
The university’s Board of Visitors Executive Committee approved a resolution authorizing the repairs. Slusher Hall was built in 1972.
“The building has received no major renovations or improvements since its original construction,” the resolution reads. “The university has been implementing normal maintenance to Slusher Hall to keep it in service but does not plan to upgrade the facility with refurbishments or renovations.”
Slusher Hall provides housing for freshmen; it has living space for 630 students. Long-range plans for the building call for demolishing it as soon as replacement beds can be constructed. Virginia Teach expects to build new housing as soon as fall 2028 as part of a planned 5,000-bed Student Life Village, according to the resolution.
The residence hall flooded in October 2022, WSLS-TV reported at the time. Students living in Slusher Hall told reporters that one student got upset and began hitting ceiling tiles. That caused a pipe to burst and flood multiple floors.
