$238 million Quad renovation will tackle sink removals, elevator installations, single-use bathrooms

Upperclassmen share their advice on applying for on-campus housing

Here are three pieces of advice from upperclassmen on navigating the on-campus housing process

SOPHIA POWELL Staff Reporter

PHOTO BY ANNA VAZHAEPARAMBIL

Students studying in Hill College House.

The housing process involves many important decisions: where you want to live, whom you want to live with, and what kind of room you want. The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke to upperclassmen who have words of advice for students going through the process.

1

Do your research

Nursing junior Monai Thompson recommended visiting different rooms in different college houses to get a feel for each house. This advice, she said, also applies to sophomores who are considering moving off campus for their junior year.

“Definitely do as much research as you can because I feel like every college house is different, and they have something else to offer. You won’t know which college house fits you until you do your research,” Thompson said.

Thompson added that it is important to consider proximity to your classes and your financial aid situation. She recommends reaching out to upperclassmen friends and speaking to them about their current living situation.

“You need to know what works for you as a student and you as a person when making your decision,” Thompson said.

2

Communicate about living styles

College senior Bryan Alvarez-Carcamo explained that communication is the most important attribute in a successful living situation.

“I really think that communication is probably the key to a successful living situation and that it is important to room with a group that you know fairly well, but don’t room with your best friends because it gets complicated when issues arise,” Alvarez-Carcamo said. “It becomes personal versus if you are not that close with them, then you can distance yourself from that person without it hurting that much.”

Alvarez-Carcamo also stressed how personal routines are an important factor when choosing a roommate.

“Make a game plan in terms of what the day-to-day is going to look like. Like, the scheduling of who’s cleaning, who’s taking out the trash, and showering times,” he recommended.

College senior Jeffrey Fishman echoed Alvarez-Carcamo’s sentiments. He said that when picking a roommate, it is important to consider habits.

“It is important to consider a lot of things when you are deciding whether you want to live with someone or not, so not just if you are compatible, but think about your sleep schedule, eating schedule, how clean you want the apartment to be,” Fishman said. “Setting those standards earlier is definitely a good idea to have when thinking about living with people.”

3

Plan ahead and get organized

Fishman urged students to plan far in advance and talk to the group of people they want to live with about their priorities for housing.

“You want to figure out where you see yourself living and also who you want to live with so that you make sure you are organized and ready to go into the process of actually requesting the housing on time,” Fishman said.

For current first years, Fishman also recommended that they take note of their timeslot and make sure they are ready with a list of their first choices and backups.

“Make sure you make use of your timeslot, or else you most likely will not get the housing you want,” Fishman said. HOUSING GUIDE

5

$238 million Quad renovation will tackle sink removals, elevator installations, single-use bathrooms

The renovation will be the first major project in the Quad since 2000

KOMAL PATEL Senior Reporter

After Penn recently announced a plan to lease The Radian for two years while the Quad undergoes major renovations, The Daily Pennsylvanian spoke with several officials from the Division of Facilities and Real Estate Services to break down the details and updates about the process.

This will be the first major renovation since 2000 to the Quad, which is over 100 years old. The initial budget for the renovation was $200 million, but since then the budget has increased to $238.15 million to cover chimney work and normal inflation, according to Director of Design and Construction John Zurn. This adjusted amount does not include the costs of leasing The Radian.

The three college houses that comprise the Quad will be renovated one at a time, with Riepe being the first, Ware second, and FisherHassenfeld third. The timeline has changed slightly, with renovations now scheduled to last roughly 15 months per house, meaning the entire project will be completed in 2026, a year earlier than was initially announced.

Renovations in Riepe will last from May 2023 to August 2024, in Ware will last from May 2024 to August 2025, and in Fisher-Hassenfeld will last from May 2025 to May 2026.

Renovations will include the removal of sinks in all bedrooms, two new elevators and a LimitedUse-Limited-Application lift for increased accessibility, and more single-use bathrooms.

The two currently existing elevators will be replaced, and the new elevators will also make larger lounges more accessible, according to University Architect Mark Kocent.

He added that the creation of more single-use bathrooms will mean that some bedrooms currently surrounding bathrooms will be consolidated into the bathroom space instead. However, no more than 50 beds will be lost in this transition, and there will still be more than 1,400 beds in the Quad.

“There were a number of bedrooms lost to make the bathrooms all-gender. Some were lost for utility infrastructure, and some were made to make the building more equitable in terms of lounges,” Kocent said.

All the bathrooms in the Quad will be updated, but not all will become single-use bathrooms. They will, however, “feel more single-use,” according to Kocent, with almost floor-to-ceiling doors in the stalls to make them feel more “private.”

All bathrooms will have the “potential” to be gender neutral with this layout according to Senior Associate Director of Building Operations Paul Forchielli.

“Sometimes in the past, halls have made those calls. Every bathroom will have the potential to be completely gender-neutral now,” Forchielli said.

The renovation of Stouffer College House was announced at the same time as the Quad renovations, and that process has already begun. Most of the demolition in Stouffer has been completed, according to Zurn, and he doesn’t anticipate running into any issues with the rest of the project.

Stouffer had not been renovated since it was built, and the main goal of the renovation was to both update bedrooms and bathrooms and to make it more accessible.

“It was never fully accessible inside. The next step will be taking out some of the concrete steps and putting all the ramps in pouring concrete,” Forchielli said.