Johnson Hall Update
Residential Life and Housing has seen an increase in maintenance requests for concerns related to humidity and mold or allergens in Johnson Hall. We worked with the Office of Environmental Health and Safety to bring in an outside contractor to complete an air quality assessment throughout the building.
That inspection was completed on Friday, October 8, and Residential Life and Housing (RLH) received the results of that inspection on Thursday, October 14. A total of 52 spaces were checked across Johnson Hall, which included a mixture of both individual student rooms and common areas throughout the hall. Based on the results of that inspection, an elevated spore count of mold was found in five areas (four student rooms and the 11th floor community bathroom) and high levels of moisture were found in 11 other areas of Johnson Hall. Those residents whose individual rooms were impacted have already been contacted with room relocation information. The Johnson Hall 11th floor community bathroom will be closed for remediation and cleaning. The residents of the 11th floor will temporarily need to use the single use bathroom on the 11th floor or the bathrooms located on floors 2, 4, and 7. We understand that this update is concerning and wanted to provide you with resources for next steps.
Facilities Management (FMD) is now in the process of completing a comprehensive building evaluation and will continue to conduct air quality assessments to monitor moisture levels. FMD will also be putting additional dehumidifiers in places where elevated moisture or humidity exists. If you see a dehumidifier, please do not disturb or turn off these machines. The remainder of the building has been determined to be safe for occupancy while this work is completed.
As a preventive measure, we are asking residents to ensure that individual windows in each room remain closed, as leaving windows open can allow additional moisture into the building. Additionally, please leave your thermostat in the auto setting as this allows the system to work properly. If you have a facility concern in your room, please submit a work order through the following link: https://housing.vcu.edu/help/fix/.
We will continue to monitor the situation and minimize the amount of disruption to your activities within the building. If we learn during continued monitoring that your room has unacceptable conditions, we will notify you directly.
Thank you for your understanding as we work to address these facility concerns within Johnson Hall.
Categories Fall 2021