BY CAROLINE BUNNELL
Multiple residence halls around campus including the Commonwealth and Colonial Courts, Boland Hall, and the Holy Cross Center, were renovated over the summer.
Director of Residence Life Ariana Gulbis said the renovations turned out exactly as planned, if not better.
“I could never have imagined it looking as good as it does now,” Gulbis said.
There was no time wasted with beginning construction, as it began May 14, as soon as students moved out, Gulbis said.
After bedroom, and common room renovations were completed in the summer of 2021 in the Holy Cross Center, more commonly known as the Sem, the bathrooms saw significant improvements with new fixtures, and tiles over the past few months.
Renovations included new furniture, paint, floors, and a new game room in Boland Hall.
First-year student Jack Schoonover said he was very happy with the renovations and was excited to live in Boland.
“The best part is all of the new furniture in the dorms. The desks and closets are really nice, and I’m also excited to see the finished game room,” Schoonover said.
The Commonwealth and Colonial Courts saw the most significant renovations on campus, with all new furniture, wood floors, paint, laundry machines, remodeled kitchens, and common rooms, including new TVs.
Gulbis said she was most excited to see students using the new common spaces, and kitchens in the courts.
“I think it’s been a long time coming for water filters and ovens. The kitchens were totally renovated with granite countertops, everything we could possibly do to make it as state of the art as we could,” Gulbis said.
Beth Parkinson, a resident of the Colonial Courts, is impressed with the renovations.
“Seeing the courts in previous years, it didn’t feel like an upgrade, especially going into my junior year, but now everything is so clean and new, that I was excited to live here, especially with the new kitchen and wood floors,” Parkinson said.
Jenna French, a resident assistant in the court, was excited about the installation of new TVs in the common spaces.
“As an RA, I can use the TV for bonding with my residents and have programming ideas like a movie/video game night, where upperclassmen residents are more likely to be engaged in,” French said.
Gulbis said that as all renovations do, it came down to the wire of getting the residence halls move-in ready by the time students began arriving.
“We had about 120 students in temporary housing just until those final touches were done, because at the point of our earliest arrivals, it wouldn’t have been a safe space for them to move in to,” Gulbis said.
Gulbis noted supply chain issues affecting certain aspects of the renovations, but that the team working on the construction worked hard to get everything done on time.
Gulbis praised Joe Fellone and Susan Viera of the facilities department, for overseeing and making many of the major decisions regarding the renovations.
Gulbis said she was looking forward to hearing student feedback about the residence halls.
“My hope is that students are just as excited about the renovations as we are. I think its well-deserved, I’m just hoping that there is this general excitement about their living space,” Gulbis said.
Future renovation plans include the continued upgrade of first-year residence halls, Gulbis said.
Photo by Kevin Piskadlo
Summit Photo by Caroline Bunnell
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