University of Utah married student housing, which is rated as very poor for seismic stability, is "every bit as good as downtown apartments," a U. official says.
Elwood T. Jones, accounting manager for the U. married student housing, said he hopes that a new seismic study won't give a black eye to the married student housing complexes."We asked for the study ourselves. We care enough about our people to ask. We wanted to know how well we were doing," he said.
In a new report commissioned by the U., Reaveley Engineers & Associates ranked married student housing as the top priority for upgrades to increase seismic stability.
The report states that it will take $7.4 million to make the married student housing more earthquake resistant. It will cost an estimated $77.7 million for the 87 buildings on the U. campus.
There are probably worse buildings on campus in terms of seismic safety than married student housing, Jones said.
Married student apartments came out first on the priority list for seismic upgrades because they're occupied 24 hours a day, compared with a more limited occupancy in classroom buildings, he said.
"We made a study of how long our people are in the building, the children, the parents. That's where they live, and we're concerned about it," Jones said.
A total of 2,600 adults and children live in the 1,091 U. apartments.
Actually, there are several married student housing complexes. The oldest groups of buildings are in the University West Village, on the west side of Foothill Boulevard at 900 South.
The south group of buildings was constructed in 1959. The north buildings in 1970. Made of cinder block and reinforced with cement and steel, they are all rated as very poor by the engineers.
The University East Village, located on the east side of Foothill Boulevard, was constructed in 1972.
The medical student housing, the twin towers next to the School of Medicine complex, rates as fair. They were built in 1971.
"All were built for code at the time," said Jones, noting that awareness and knowledge about seismic-safety construction has changed greatly in the past 20 to 30 years.
Despite a flurry of publicity, U. students living in the apartments weren't calling to express concerns Tuesday. Jones said he may get a few calls asking for explanations later this week.
U. administrators have said they will try to use the study information as a planning guide for improvements for seismic safety. They have indicated much of the seismic retrofitting will probably be done during routine remodeling and maintenance projects.