COMMERCE - Five months ago, students at Texas A&M University-Commerce were alerted to falling debris at Whitley Hall via the emergency notification system IRIS.
No one was hurt, but the dozens of pieces of brick veneer that detached from the east side of building’s 12th floor caused concern over the facility’s structural integrity. Engineers would quickly deem the building safe, indicating the debris was an exterior finish material, and not a part of the structural frame supporting the building. Crews then began reconstructing the section.
According to an email sent Friday by David McKenna, executive director of facilities, all repairs to the brick veneer of have been completed. He says work over the past few months has including patching anchor holes in mortar joints to match existing mortar, removing brick as required to access existing shelf angles and repairing precast concrete roof channels above the resident assistant’s apartment ceiling.
Whitley Hall, constructed in 1969, housed 466 students during the spring semester.