As students fill campus again for the fall semester, renovations of the Case Quad have reached a major milestone: Starting today, the first of dozens of yards of fencing will begin to come down, ultimately allowing pedestrians to again enter and exit all buildings from quad-facing doors.
“We recognize that the extensive fencing required to complete this work safely inconvenienced several people located on the quad,” said Dean Tufts, the university’s new vice president for Campus Planning and Facilities Management. “We want to thank all of those affected for their exceptional patience.”
As the fence removal continues through Friday, members of the campus community will be able to see at least some of the improvements more clearly—cracked or uneven walkways have been replaced with smooth and bright new ones, with new lighting and irrigation systems installed as well.
After this removal, all walkways will be open to pedestrians, but they will see some remaining fencing and signage around the quad’s grassy areas. The new sod placed as part of the project needs additional time to take full root before people walk on it; facilities leaders expect the remaining fencing will be able to come down by mid-September. The fencing will not block anyone from traversing the walkways.
The CWRU community can look forward to over 30 new trees on the quad, most of which are being planted in the central lawn areas. Visitors will be able to enjoy a mixture of canopy trees—oaks, lindens and elms. There also will be flowering trees—redbud, dogwoods and lilacs—that will thrive in the shady areas.
Over the next several months, in addition to the aforementioned trees, visitors will see additional plantings, new bike racks, and, by spring, new outdoor furniture as well. The sculpture titled “Spit Ball” by artist Tony Smith also is being restored and will be reinstalled later in the year.
“I am very impressed with the amount of work that was done in the short summer duration,” Tufts said, “and appreciate that our contractor completed more than initially anticipated.”