$16.6M Renovation Planned for Penn State’s Thompson Hall

One of Penn State's older dormitories will undergo a $16.6 million renovation, pending approval by the university's full Board of Trustees on Friday. Plans for Thompson Hall in the West Halls complex include bathroom renovations, an increase in bed capacity and upgrades to student amenities. The board's Finance and Investment Committee recommended approval on Thursday. Each of the three stacks of restrooms have not been renovated since the building was constructed in 1950. They will be updated with ADA-accessible facilities that include a "wet core" open sink area and multiple private bathrooms, a configuration the university has used in other recent residence hall renovations. The renovations will create a bathroom-to-bed ratio of about 1 to 6. The project will also add six bedrooms with 14 total beds to Thompson Hall's current 464 beds, which accounts for 27% of West Halls total capacity. Other updates include new gas dryers in the laundry rooms, the addition of a commu