State handicap accessibility regulations have tripped up a would-be revamping of West Hall's plumbing system.
Tufts truncated the project this summer amid concerns that its plans were not in line with the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board's (MAAB) regulations.
The MAAB regulates construction projects in Massachusetts to ensure that buildings provide handicapped people with "full and free use of buildings and facilities," according to its Web site. The MAAB claims authority over "any construction, renovation, remodeling, or alteration of a public building or facility."
Although the university planned to replace West's entire plumbing system, this renovation would have been so comprehensive that it would have forced the administration to bring the entire building into compliance with accessibility rules.
Tufts was not financially prepared to do so. "There wasn't a plan budgeting for complete accessibility," Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman told the Daily.
Building inspectors from the City of Medford oversee and enforce compliance with all regulations, including accessibility requirements, on projects taking place within city limits. West Hall lies on the Medford side of campus, and falls within their oversight.
As Tufts began the process of securing a building permit for the West project in the early spring of this year, the inspectors "gave us an indication that we could not do the work without doing a much greater volume" of renovations, Vice President for Operations John Roberto said.
In response, Tufts reduced the scope of the project, looking to renovate West without exceeding the threshold that would mandate full accessibility, Roberto said. These smaller renovations were completed over the summer.
Subsequent renovations that would have become necessary include "requiring the facility to be accessible from the exterior, either through a ramp or a lift, and full accessibility to all floors within the building," Roberto said.
Accommodating these requirements would have entailed the implementation of an elevator system with access to all floors and the installation of handicap-accessible toilets, sinks and showers in the bathrooms.
Building the elevator shaft would have been a complex process, requiring either a sacrifice of space in the floor plan or an addition to the building.
"Lift options have been explored preliminarily," although either sacrificing space or building an addition would be costly compared to a standard plumbing renovation, Deferred Maintenance Program Manager Rudi Pizzi told the Daily in an e-mail. Pizzi added that the total cost of such a renovation cannot be determined "until the final scope of the work is defined."
Tufts is only required to bring the building into line with MAAB regulations if it conducts significant construction on the building, which predates the board's rules. The planned renovations to West exceeded two thresholds set by the board in terms of cost and area renovated.
Part of the problem lies in the vague interpretation of the regulations, according to Roberto. "If we do a whole building, then the whole building is brought up to code," he said. "The issue comes when you're doing less than a full renovation. What does the code require you to do? That's what we're trying to understand more completely."
The question of accessibility at Tufts stretches beyond the West construction, Roberto said, adding that the dormitory is "only the first project that [is] impacted." Accessibility concerns will be a part of any and all future construction and renovation projects around campus.
This past summer, Tufts successfully renovated Metcalf Hall, adding an access ramp at the front entrance and three accessible bedrooms and one accessible bathroom on the first floor. Construction teams also improved accessibility in South Hall bathrooms, according to Roberto.
While the university is ready for future projects on campus to receive the same scrutiny that the West plans, Tufts is still in the process of determining whether the accessibility rule is being interpreted correctly.
Tufts is advocating for a more holistic approach to regulating accessibility accommodations.
"The university is committed to fully complying with applicable regulations but believes … compliance should be based upon the percentage of all accessible rooms available in all buildings, as opposed to the percentage available in any single building." Tufts' Senior Counsel Martin Oppenheimer told the Daily in an e-mail.
If a review confirms that the regulation is based on the percentage of all accessible rooms on campus rather than in individual buildings, Tufts will have considerable freedom in planning new renovations.
Oppenheimer also said that a taskforce has been working over the last 18 months on the issue of increasing handicap-accessible space on campus.
According to Roberto, finding a working interpretation of the regulations is a primary concern. In the future, it will be important to determine "a balance between maintaining our facilities and meeting the spirit and intent of the law," Roberto said.
The original, full project is still pending review by the MAAB, Pizzi said, and may go forward at a later date.
