The building removal process for Hanna House, Wells Hall, Joyner House, and Williams Hall will begin with the installation of fencing around the project site after Miami’s spring commencement on May 16. 

Structural demolition will begin in early June for Wells Hall, Hanna House, and Joyner House and by late June for Williams Hall. 

Restoration of the site will be complete around mid-October.

Energy systems conversions — decarbonizing campus

The $7 million project includes removal of steam pipes and installation of simultaneous heating hot water (HHW) pipes for MacMillan and Warfield Halls.

Armstrong Student Center will also be converted to HHW this summer. 

These energy systems conversions are part of the Miami 2040 Climate Action Plan and contribute to decarbonizing Miami’s Oxford campus. 

Site restoration and landscape plan for the area between Nellie Craig Walker Hall and South Oak Street (drawing courtesy of the Kleingers Group).

Site restoration

After the buildings are removed, the area will be restored and landbanked for potential future redevelopment, according to project manager Don Van Winkle, associate director of engineering in the Physical Facilities Department. The new green space created will include tree plantings and regrading of several sidewalks and parking areas. 

The project includes the permanent removal of the parking lot and connector drive between Nellie Craig Walker Hall and the Williams Hall/Phillips Hall parking lots. 

The stairs that lead from the northeast corner of the Cleveland Clinic Health Sciences and Wellness parking lot to the connector lot will be removed and the area regraded to ensure that all sidewalks are Americans with Disabilities Act accessible. 

Building materials will be salvaged for eventual reuse as needed, including card reader systems, security cameras, alarms, and elevator parts. 

The date stone and name stone from Wells Halls will be salvaged and stored. (Visit the Sharon and Graham Mitchell Sustainability Park to see how old stone has been repurposed — such as 1976 date stone from the original Goggin Ice Arena and stone windowsills from Elliott Hall with students' names from 1835 carved on them). 

Building removals fencing plan June through mid-October (map courtesy of the Physical Facilities Department).

Parking lots impacted during the summer

During the project period, starting May 17, the small parking lot on the east side of Nellie Craig Walker Hall and the parking lot by Phillips Hall will be closed. They will reopen after the project is completed in October. 

The parking lot around Williams Hall will be partially closed by May 17 and then fully closed by June. It will reopen after project completion in October. 

About the buildings

• Hanna House: The small building, built in 1963, was most recently used by the Office of Equity and Equal Opportunity). The office, part of the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM), moved earlier this year to the second floor of Hoyt Hall, the new location for OHRM. 
• Joyner House: This small residential property, built in 1910, most recently housed IT Services administrative offices. All Technology Support Offices are now on the third floor of Hoyt Hall. 
• Wells Hall: The residence hall, built in 1922-1923, was last used in 2019. It had some occasional use during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021 to house quarantining students.
• Williams Hall: Built in 1959 to house the original WMUB radio station and the Communications department, it currently houses TV and other recording facilities and the Department of Media, Journalism, and Film. The department will move this summer into the newly renovated Bachelor Hall, with updated production facilities for TV, podcast, music recording and more.