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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 1, 1993                   TAG: 9304010167
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C4   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: LON WAGNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

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FERRUM BUILDINGS SET FOR RENOVATION

A $3.5 million renovation and construction project at Ferrum College announced this week will involve two of the college's centerpiece buildings.

Garber Hall, a major laboratory and classroom and life sciences building, will undergo a $1 million renovation this summer, said Bob Thompson, director of administrative services. Ferrum's library also will be expanded.

The work on Garber Hall will include adding air conditioning and modernizing laboratories. President Jerry Boone said much of the work on Garber Hall should be completed by the time students return in the fall.

Once Garber Hall is renovated, Boone said, the college hopes to begin adding a greenhouse to the south end of the building. That work would cost $300,000 to $500,000, Thompson said. Parents of Ferrum students have committed to raising money for the greenhouse.

Other improvements would include:

Expanding Stanley Library, which will involve enclosing a patio to add 3,300 square feet.

Refurbishing one upper-class residence hall and razing two units in a student-housing complex.

Adding a new sports building, which would contain two basketball courts, two racquetball courts and a weight room.

Thompson said the housing units that will be torn down are modular buildings that were put up in the 1970s when the college's enrollment - now about 1,200 students - grew quickly.

"The two units we're going to take down are deteriorating and we thought we should go ahead and do it," he said.

In addition to the money expected to come from the parents' group, the college expects to borrow some money, apply for grants and conduct fund-raising drives.

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