West Quad and Cambridge House, built in 1937 and located at 541 Thompson St., house about 1,100 students. The renovations will cover 370,000 square feet and include infrastructure upgrades as well as creation of new community spaces. In describing the project, Royster Harper – UM’s vice president for student affairs – noted that West Quad was dubbed “The Ship” by U.S. Navy troops that were housed there during World War II. “Well, The Ship is in need of renovations,” Harper said. Among other things, she said that students would rather not have to open their windows in the winter in order to regulate heat.

Also on Feb. 21, regents authorized hiring Integrated Design Solutions LLC as the project’s architect. The renovation work is expected to provide an average of 138 on-site construction jobs, according to a staff memo.

This brief was filed from the Anderson Room at the Michigan Union, where this month’s regents meeting was held.