Turner Hall Renovation

Turner Hall, a primarily freshman dorm, was empty when school opened this year — no walls, beds, or boys. Following the complete renovation of the other freshman dorm, Taylor Hall, last year, it is now Turner's turn to get a top-to-bottom refresh.

Turner was built during the summer of 1937 and was first occupied by Woodberry students in 1938. The dorm is named in honor of Mortimer A. Turner, who was a member of the Woodberry faculty from 1897 to 1919, teaching French and German, and was a resident of the school community until 1936.

The first renovation of Turner took place in 1984 and included replacing all domestic plumbing, gutting and refinishing the dormitory toilet and shower rooms, installing a firefighting and fire alarm system, and some electrical work. The second stage, completed in the summer of 1985, finished the re-wiring and architectural remodeling and the installation of a completely new heating and ventilating system. Substantial support for this project was donated to Woodberry by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, the Edward E. Ford Foundation, the Morgan Foundation, and John E. Ray, 3rd ’38. 

According to David Clore, who is overseeing the construction, the construction on Turner is set to be finished by May 2025. Taylor and Turner’s construction is similar but there will be some key differences.

 

“The two dorms have a slightly different layout, because of the steel structure of the dorms,” said Joe Orgell, the superintendent for Chelsea and Lee, the construction firm that is overseeing the work on both dorms. “The dorm layout will stay roughly the same except for a few differences like the laundry room moving from the basement to the connector, which is the new structure that joins the two dorms. Turner is going to be a completely modern building. We’ve got all new plumbing, electric, and HVAC. We were having to piecemeal that together before, and now everything is brand new so everything should work well when we’re done.” 

Lucky for the team, they have not had to make any major structural modifications to the building, unlike the work on Taylor. 

“In Taylor, there was a little bit more structural work because there were some bar joists that had rotted out essentially from water leaks in the bathroom during the year. They had rusted out on the top so we had to replace those with some iron.” Orgrell said. “The main modifications that are being made are just some additional supports and the connector. The only thing existing from the previous building is essentially the superstructure, the steel, and the bar joist’s original concrete. We stripped everything down to the concrete and then the facade is original, and the roof and all the rafters are all original. We’re replacing the shingles, however."

Since the renovation of Turner is the biggest ongoing project at Woodberry, there is a lot of buzz around the renovation. Many students and faculty dorm parents have positive memories of their experiences of living on Turner.

“I loved living on Turner,” said teacher and former Turner dorm parent Ms. Perry Gresham. “It was probably my favorite year at Woodberry because I loved the energy the third formers bring. The dorm was cozy and homey and that was perfect for a third-form residence.”