After being out of commission due to renovation, Courtside, a
residential building in Sunset Village, and the Covel Commons
residential restaurant are back in business for the new school
year.
Courtside was renovated mainly due to repair water damage, which
entailed “re-skimming” the exterior siding and the roof
of the building to make them watertight, said Jack Gibbons,
associate director for the Office of Residential Life.
In addition to repairing the water damage, windows were
replaced, stairwells were rebuilt and the courtyard surrounded by
the housing was re-landscaped, Gibbons said.
The courtyard was re-landscaped to provide spaces for student
programs.
The new renovations have been a big hit with Courtside
residents.
“I’m happier here than I would have been in a
residence hall,” said first-year undeclared student Brian
Wright.
Students living in Courtside are not the only ones who benefit
from its reopening.
In other residence halls, students may be able to live more
comfortably this year because approximately 460 bed spaces were
added due to Courtside’s reopening. Gibbons said the number
of doubles available on the Hill increased this year.
The Covel Commons residential restaurant was renovated with the
“marché concept” in mind to increase its
popularity with residents.
This change allows students to get food from various stations
spread across the dining hall.
“The marché concept that was introduced in Rieber and
was replicated in Hedrick and De Neve was more popular with
students,” Gibbons said.
Before Covel’s renovation, the number of students dropped
to 40 percent due to the renovation of Courtside and the opening of
the De Neve dining facility in 2002.
Because of the decline in student interest, it was necessary to
introduce new concepts, Gibbons said.
In addition to increasing student popularity, the renovation
allows the dining hall to cut costs.
“We can actually reduce our operating costs by
implementing the marché concept and switching over to new
equipment that’s more efficient,” Gibbons said.
A brick pizza oven and an additional private dining room were
added to the dining hall.
The eatery currently does not serve breakfast, and some of its
previous features are not working. Residents, however, have
received the renovation positively.
“The ice cream and soda machines haven’t been
working, but I’ll eat there more than I did last year,”
said Chris Kuhl, a second-year biochemistry student.