Ariannah Johnson
palmettoreport@gmail.com

(Rock Hill, S.C.) – The demolition of two high rise dormitories on the Winthrop University campus is nearly complete, after the buildings were closed in 2021 due to their age and deteriorating structural integrity.

The demolition of Wofford Hall was finished by the first of October and the demolition of Richardson Hall is nearing an end.

The former buildings are being torn down under a controlled demolition, piece by piece, in order to maintain safety.

James Grigg, associate vice president of facilities, said the buildings needed to come down after more than 50 years of use.

“The state said that ‘Winthrop y’all need to start kind of planning for these buildings going away. They have finite life,'” Grigg said.

He said when the buildings were built, the construction crew poured the roof slab with an additive to maintain the concrete’s fluidity, but the work was done on a cold day, which contributed to structural issues, including leaking on the eighth floor of Wofford.

The university has been collecting memories of Wofford and Richardson from students, faculty, staff and alumni, which have been posted online.

“It makes me sad. I feel really sad that they are demolishing Richardson and Wofford,” said Dana Bruneau, a former Wofford resident. “It was the first and only dorm that I lived on campus back in 1987 and 1988.”

With the dormitories coming down, Winthrop decided to allow people to keep a brick as a keepsake.

“My husband works here and he messaged me and said ‘they are giving away bricks from Wofford, do you want one?’ I said ‘sure,’ so he brought home a brick.” Bruneau said. “I’m not sure, what I’m going to do with it yet. It has mortar all over it. So, I want to chisel that away, but I’m definitely going to do something nice with it.”

Taylor Evans, a Winthrop employee and former Wofford resident, said she has mixed emotions about the former dormitories.

“I feel like it’s a bittersweet feeling. I lived there in 2017, I lived there my whole freshman year from 2017 to 2018. I have good memories, but I have bad memories. Freshman year was probably my worst year of college, so maybe it’s time for her to come down,” Evans said.

Many people are curious about what might replace the buildings, but Grigg said it hasn’t been decided yet.

“Possibly a first-year experience residence hall and then on the Wofford site potentially an academic building, now also in conjunction with that we’re going to change some of the roads in the area,” Grigg said.