Will Temple Towers fall?

Temple Towers, one of the university’s oldest dorm buildings, may be about to undergo major changes.

Administrators are now working with consultants to decide whether Towers should be renovated, or demolished and rebuilt. The university doesn’t have definite plans for the construction or reconstruction of the building.

Once the plan is officially prepared, it will have to be approved by the Board of Trustees. The university has not released the construction timeline.

Residents of Temple Towers have noticed problems that typically come with older buildings, but Ray Betzner, director of university relations, said the building is not in violation of any building codes.

“I’ve heard students assume that the building has so many code violations, but the truth is that Temple Towers meets all of the code requirements,” Betzner said.

Temple Towers houses 630 students. Residents Abigail Reeder and Allison Reeder, who are both sophomores, show concern toward the condition of their rooms.

“In a lot of the rooms, the floor kind of sinks in toward the center,” Abigail Reeder said. “There’s also a lot of holes in the walls and I worry of being charged for damages when I move out at the end of this year.”

Allison Reeder agreed that the building is deteriorating.

“The ceilings leak all the time,” she said. “You can tell when your neighbors are taking a bath.”

Christy Favinger, a sophomore pharmacy major, has also noticed problems with her room. She said she would be happy to see Temple Towers redone.

“There’s a definite need for housing on campus, which is no secret,” Favinger said. “The heating system at Temple Towers is horrible.”

Sophomore Tom Rice said that when he first moved into Towers, the room was dirty but not in horrible condition.

“There are the occasional pests, but I used to live in Hardwick, and I think Towers are in a lot better condition than where I was last year,” Rice said.

A plan for the new building has not been presented yet to the Board of Trustees but one is under way. During construction, students will most likely be able to live at Avenue North at 1600 N. Broad St., according to a representative for Avenue North.

Betzner said that this project’s purpose is to provide students with better housing in addition to making housing more competitive with other schools.

“Many students choose their college based on where they will live, and a fixed-up Towers will be more appealing to prospective college students,” Betzner said.

Megan Kelsey can be reached at megan.kelsey@temple.edu.