This summer, UCLA housing officials renovated the Hill to include a new fitness center in Carnesale Commons, improvements to Saxon Residential Suites and the reopened Rendezvous residential restaurant.
UCLA Housing spent roughly $3 million for the new fitness center, $2 million on the Rendezvous restaurant and $25 million renovating Saxon Residential Suites, said Rebecca Kendall, UCLA media relations officer. The renovations are part of an ongoing UCLA project to increase the student capacity on the Hill, and eventually guarantee four-year housing for all students.
Bruin Fitness Center
Bruin Fitness Center, a new 14,000-square-foot fitness center located below Bruin Plate on the ground level of Carnesale Commons, employs more than 60 UCLA students and has a large amount of space dedicated to strength and conditioning, Kendall said. The center will have equipment such as treadmills, cycles, and a weight lifting area, and will also offer personal training, nutritional services and lockers.
Bruin Fitness will have an open house for students on Sept. 25, as part of UCLA Recreation Day, and will open officially for student use shortly after on an undetermined date, Kendall said.
Elliot Desai, a second-year undeclared social science student who didn’t have access to a fitness center in his dorm as a freshman, said he thinks the fitness center will be convenient.
Rendezvous and dining changes
Rendezvous, which was closed for renovations last year, will be open to students starting this fall. The kitchen underwent remodeling to make the dining hall more efficient to serving students, Kendall said.
UCLA is also offering a new supplemental meal plan with prepackaged lunches and dinners that meet kosher and halal requirements, sold at Covel Commons Dining Hall.
Saxon Suites
Saxon was renovated for the first time in 30 years, and now features a barbecue pit, an LED-lit fireplace pit and an outdoor cinema space where films can be projected onto the building’s wall, Kendall said.
The outdoor renovations to Saxon were added in the hopes of creating more social spaces for students, Kendall said. The fireplace pits and cinema space will be open to all students.
Itzel Romero, a second-year neuroscience student, said she thinks the Saxon renovations will be very popular, and would be a good place for campus groups to hold events.
Renovations to Delta Terrace and Hedrick Dining Hall will also begin in the fall, leading to closure of those buildings for the 2015-16 school year.
Delta Terrace is undergoing a $7 million renovation that will impact all bathrooms, lounges, common areas and faculty apartments in the building. Hedrick Dining Hall will be converted into a late-night study lounge with space for up to 400 students, Kendall said. The new lounge, which is expected to cost about $8.2 million, will open in fall of 2016.