Fremont Hall Restored After Landslide

Fremont Hall, inside the South Mountain Residence Halls, is up and running again after three years of vacancy due to a slow-moving landslide.

The landslide occurred during the winter quarter of 2017 and slid into the dorm’s east side, impacting a multi-use room inside the building. A wall within the multi-use room was damaged, though the rest of the dorm was left untouched. Residents were immediately evacuated, and the hall remained empty until the beginning of this quarter.

During the following spring and summer of 2017, Facilities developed an immediate response project, taking soil from the impacted area away and implementing temporary drainage features that diverted surface water causing the highly saturated soil in the landslide. The quick response plans helped take care of the soil for the next winter in case another landslide took place, and Facilities began to plan further assessments for future remediation and a more permanent solution.

That renovation work started in August 2021 and finished this past June. The project focused on assessing the landslide, building a system that maintains the integrity of the hillside and reopening the dorm for residents. The work done on Fremont Hall protects it from future slide issues. After the work was completed, a post-construction monitoring system was installed to keep track of any activity to advise the university.

Other improvements include landscaping, student-life-related projects, earthwork, structural work and a textural wall. Alongside the exterior improvements, Fremont Hall also received interior renovations to bathrooms, fire sprinklers, floor coverings and other utilities before the beginning of Week of Welcome. Similar exterior and interior changes are planned for the other South Mountain Residence Halls.

Facilities collaborated with an extensive list of professionals on the project. Schnabel Foundation Company served as the collaborative design-builder and engineer of record. Cannon served as the civil engineer, Yeh and Associates worked as geological engineers and Ten Over worked as an architect.

To monitor future weather events impacting Fremont, Facilities contracted with Yeh and Associates to monitor the surrounding area. Using post-construction monitoring devices, consultants will visit periodically and after any notable seismic or rain activity to ensure the finished project is stable.

With the project now complete, Fremont Hall is better than ever.