Ryan Heath’s opinion of construction can be summed up in two words.

“It sucks,” the senior in Media said, in reference to the work being done outside the window of his room in Garner Hall.

Although there are at least five major construction sites on campus, not all students who live near them feel the same way Heath does.

“Students here know what construction is,” said Kirsten Ruby, University Housing’s assistant director of housing for marketing. “They’ve seen it before, and they’re being gracious.”

But no matter their opinions, students living in any of the Champaign residence halls, Presby Hall, the apartment complex at 309 E. Green St., and the Lofts 54 apartments are all living with construction.

Noisy situation

On some days, the noise of construction is what students in these areas wake up to.

At Presby Hall, Betty Huynh and Katelyn Strickler, freshmen in LAS, said they have been woken up a few times by construction going on outside their balcony.

“One morning when we first moved in, they were hammering and drilling pretty early,” Strickler said.

“It wasn’t like it was noon or anything.”

Construction near Presby Hall is continuing, as builders hope to complete a fitness center, connect the living space to the McKinley Foundation’s building and install a grid to ensure water drains properly from a patio area, said Amanda Childress, director of operations for the McKinley Foundation, which owns the building.

Construction on Presby Hall itself was completed Aug. 21, she said.

Work on the Stanley O. Ikenberry Dining Hall and the first wing of a new residence hall begins at 7:30 a.m. Mondays through Saturdays, according to the University Housing Web site.

Heath said the construction is loud every morning, and that rumbling sounds and beeping trucks wake him up slightly earlier than he would get up for his 9 a.m. classes.

His roommate Shuai Zhao, junior in Engineering, said he brought earplugs in case the construction noise was too loud to deal with.

“I only had to use them once. I was trying to study,” Zhao said.

“After a while, you become indifferent to it.”

Workers are putting up the steel infrastructure for the dining and housing facilities at the Ikenberry site, and this is a very noisy process, Ruby said.

“For good or bad, people living here now are probably getting the loudest of it,” she said.

Ruby said she has received one complaint and two feedback form responses relating to the construction.

The complaint occurred last spring, she said.

Residents of the dorms surrounding this construction site were given information sheets about the construction when they moved in.

Fliers, the University housing Web site and the occasional e-mail also inform residents about the situation.

“We have coupons to our a la carte locations for one free item to give them a little something to say ‘We’re still thinking about you. We know sometimes it’s loud, so please bear with us, because it’s going to be awesome when it’s done,'” Ruby said.

The noise of the construction at the 309 Green apartments does not bother Danny Rudnick, junior in LAS.

“It’s really nice living close to campus over living far away,” Rudnick said. “I can deal with the noise.”

‘Finishing touches’

Sometimes, Dan Smart, sophomore in LAS, hears banging noises at his apartment in the Lofts 54 complex, but is unaware of what type of work is going on.

Roland Realty informs tenants of the Lofts 54 building, 54 E. Chalmers St., about move-in dates and construction details via e-mail, Smart said.

Roland Realty did not respond to several opportunities for comment.

Smart said he has seen workers laying the building’s brick walls and working on the car and bike parking area on the first floor.

Some work has also gone on inside his apartment.

“We didn’t have screens when we first moved in,” Smart said. “There were some finishing touches they had to add like the glass top for the coffee table and a minifridge.”

The fitness center and pool are not complete at the 309 Green building, said Rudnick, who lives on the ninth floor.

Rudnick said these amenities, especially the fitness center, were part of what made the building sound appealing.

“I would like the place to be done for what we’re paying for it,” said Rudnick, who said his rent is about $700 per month. “But the apartment itself is very nice.”

Huynh and Strickler also said Presby Hall is missing some amenities they were promised, including a café and wireless Internet service.

The two suitemates said they take their laptop computers to the McKinley Foundation to access the Internet there instead.

Some residents of affected areas said the construction projects do not cause them too much trouble.

“It hasn’t really affected me that much and I’m very grateful for that,” said Debra Kelly, freshman in LAS, who lives in Barton Hall near the Ikenberry construction site.

“I was scared that it would wake me up, but it hasn’t been that bad.”

For Heath in Garner Hall, the benefits of living close to his friends and not having to deal with landlords outweigh the costs of dealing with construction – even though he will graduate before the project is completed.

The dining hall and residence hall being built at the Ikenberry site are both on schedule to be finished in spring 2010, Ruby said.

Safety considerations

Until then, the safety of residents and other students is one of her main concerns.

“A lot of students think they learned safety in first grade so they don’t have to pay attention,” Ruby said.

“But on a construction site, you have pedestrians, bikes and trucks all in one area.”

Construction site safety around campus is also a concern for Michael La Due, Dist. 2 Champaign City Council member, whose district covers Campustown west of Wright Street and south of Daniel Street.

La Due said buildings are considered safe for occupancy once their frames are built and they are structurally sound.

Champaign does not require a permit for partial occupancy of a building while construction is ongoing, according to the city’s buildings and safety division.

Some sections of the Lofts 54 and 309 Green buildings are not occupied yet.

Smart said the Lofts 54 building is divided into three sections, one of which is currently vacant.

Rudnick’s ninth floor is the lowest livable floor in the 309 Green building.

About a week after Rudnick moved in on Sept. 5, he said he was temporarily trapped inside the elevator, which is now a concern for him.

“I got stuck for a couple seconds between floors,” he said.

“I freaked out and pushed all the buttons and it went down one floor. Then I jumped out.”

Despite the inconveniences of noise, missing amenities and safety concerns, residents of many construction sites are seeing the positive side of their situation and remaining content with their living arrangements.

“You’ve got to deal with the construction noise,” Smart said. “But I’d way rather move in two weeks ago than wait until it’s done.”