Renovations sweep across university campus

By Jack Wagner

This past summer, the Swig Residential Hall was completely gutted and only the exterior walls remained. Now, students returning to Santa Clara get to enjoy a completely new space, one that feels much more modern, clean and environmentally friendly.

"I have been really impressed with the renovations. It's so bright in here, it's so happy, I feel good in this environment," said Gayle Catterlin, the resident director for the Cyphi and St. Clare residential learning communities and a resident of the Swig Residence Hall for the third year in a row.

Starting in the basement, planners recaptured the space that used to be allotted for the KSCU radio station and turned it into a common student space and expanded the laundry facilities.

The basement now has two music practice rooms, a dance studio, a conference room, a workroom, a movie theater and a game room. There are also five more washers and ten more dryers in the laundry facilities, according to Catterlin.

On the first story, the main lobby was unchanged for the most part and the bathrooms on floors two through ten were kept original as well, only a few minor changes made.

Student rooms feature new floors, ceilings, vanities, paint and furniture. The windows were replaced during previous renovations in the summer of 2009, so students will also be able to enjoy those.

Very little remained unchanged in the building, and as Catterlin put it, "The renovations this summer were basically a full lift of the building. Basically everything was taken out except for the walls."

Construction began an hour after the building closed on June 16, according to the Assistant Vice President of University Operations, Joe Sugg. He also said that the construction was completed on time and new furniture was moved in last week, along with the faculty who reside in the building.According to Sugg, the construction "went really well."

Others in charge of the building process expressed their happiness with the construction of the building as well.Steve Brodie, the project manager for the renovations in both Swig and Benson, said of the completed building, "Having designed it, I think it's spectacular."

Because many of the renovations to the building were focused on improving student life, the students residing in the building should find it much more enjoyable. There are kitchens on every other floor, a new Sky Lounge on the top floor, and the aforementioned student spaces in the basement.

To ensure that the students and residents of the building would be getting what they wanted from the renovated building, focus groups were formed last year and in years past. Most of the changes, in the basement especially, were student-driven.

Certain things cannot be changed though, as was noted in Josue Alcaraz's comment on the rooms, "They're kind of small." Alcaraz is a sophomore and lived in the McLaughlin Residence Hall last year.

Other major changes took place this summer aside from the renovation of Swig and although most of the major projects have been completed, there are more in the works.Most students will have noticed by now that the Benson Dining Hall has been completely transformed into a center of design and service.

The exhibit style of cooking that has been adapted in Benson was described by Sugg as a, "market square type of feel," adding that it was "very nice."

The new Locatelli Center was opened this past June and Nobili Residence Hall was upgraded with new heating and air conditioning, a new roof, and a new kitchen.New roofs were also put on many of the buildings around campus and paint was applied to the walls of many buildings as well.

The Walsh and McLaughlin Residence Halls received new counters and vanities and some rooms received new floors according to Sugg.

Contact Jack Wagner at jcwagner@scu.edu or (408) 554-4546