Hofstra’s Rabinowitz Honors College students will relocate to Nassau Hall while renovations take place in Vander Pool Hall. // Photo courtesy of Matt Fisher

Hofstra University has announced plans in February to renovate two of its high-rise residence halls. In an email sent on Feb. 23 by Rabinowitz Honors College Dean Warren Frisina, residents of Vander Poel Hall were alerted that the tower will be going “offline” for the 2024-2025 school year to undergo renovations.

Vander Poel Hall is a dormitory that exclusively houses Hofstra’s honors college students. In the email, Frisina outlined reasons for the renovation, citing flooding as a primary cause.

“Let’s start with the way the water leaks into the building whenever it rains,” wrote Frisina. “A year is what it takes to fix the leaks which are now so extensive some 45+ rooms can’t be occupied.”

Since the beginning of the 2023-2024 academic school year, numerous residents of Vander Poel Hall have reported room leaks due to heavy rain.

“My room has flooded multiple times over the course of these last two semesters,” said Gabriella Luca, a freshman bioengineering major. “It has been a major inconvenience having to worry about what I leave on the floor and considering when it rains so nothing gets damaged.”

Vander Poel residents have also expressed concern about their safety regarding the state of their tower.

“[The flooding] has created an overall sense of worry among Vander Poel residents, as we all have to consider the integrity of the building and the safety of ourselves and personal belongings,” said Caroline Cassidy, a freshman double majoring in linguistics and mathematics. “It’s frustrating that we have to think about this along with all the other typical worries of a college freshman.”

The renovation, also including Alliance Hall, is part of a larger ongoing tower renovation project that began two years ago with Constitution Hall, followed by Estabrook, which has been under renovation this year.

According to Joe Barkwill, the vice president of facilities and operations, the order in which towers are selected for renovation is determined by the number of leak reports received.

However, next year will be the first year two towers go offline at once; a direct result of the massive influx of rainfall recorded this year.

To combat the flooding, Barkwill says the exterior of the towers will receive drastic fixes.

“These towers were built in the ‘60s,” Barkwill said. “So just like we did with the library, we have to go on the outside, caulk the windows, we do the fissures in the concrete and then we put a water sealant on the building.”

Next year, Hofstra will house its honors students in Nassau Hall. Current residents of Vander Poel were given first pick of rooms in the complex, and will pay a price comparable to what they have been paying in their current tower.

Nassau Hall is not becoming the permanent honors college housing as students will be returning to Vander Poel during the 2025-2026 academic year. Next year, honors students will be able to take advantage of Nassau’s amenities like the outdoor courtyard and newly remodeled kitchens.