March 15, 2009

Residential Master Plan: Sit tight

The Student is reporting that the inexorable renovation progress of the Residential Master Plan, which started earlier this decade with the construction of King and Wieland dorms, has been slowed. According to Torin Moore, Dean of Residential Life (I love writing that, because Torin was an Area Coordinator when I was an RC in South) the College will close three of the most-remote houses (Plimpton, Tyler, and Seligman, formerly known as DKE, Kappa Theta, and TD, respectively) for 2009-2010, as well as the infamous “mods” (Waldorf and Plaza dorms, temporary housing behind Seeley Mudd).

This plan will leave Marsh House as the only inhabited dorm on “the Hill” and doubtless please the Lincoln Avenue neighbors of Seligman. With Hitchcock and Seeleye Houses re-opening after this year’s renovation, the College will be able to house all the students displaced from the three houses and the Mods in newer, more energy-efficient housing.

According to the Student, the next priority on the RMP is “renovation” of the Social Dorms (Crossett, Davis, Pond, Coolidge and Stone) which, in our opinion, would be best approached by demolition and a fresh start as taken for James and Stearns.

Parker Morse '96 | March 15, 2009 01:44 PM | Campus

Comments

Jim | March 15, 2009 04:35 PM:

Would it be possible to "double name" the various houses with their new and "old" names (frat names)so that old alumni know what you are talking about. Many of us don't know them by names like Plimpton, Tyler, and Seligman and Marsh. Sorry, not that I want it to "stay the old way" it is just that I haven't been back on campus enough to remember what new name goes with the old place.

Parker Morse '96 | March 15, 2009 04:53 PM:

Jim, that's a reasonable request. One reason I haven't been doing that so far is that, as one who post-dates the fraternities, I barely know any of the frat names - Porter and Garman (DU and Beta) are the only two I can produce with any confidence. Brian's other site (amherstiana.org) has them double-named, so we can use that as a guide.

johnmead '09e | March 26, 2009 09:32 PM:

Seligman (TD) was unoccupied this year, though it was not initially planned to be; there was just no student interest in living there. The social dorms will inevitably be torn down. Some of the methods used in their construction (half-stories, wiring and piping running inside poured concrete) make renovation impractical, so they will get the James/Stearns treatment as part of a wholly rebuilt East Campus, built around the new Earth Science/Natural History Museum, new social dorms, King and Wieland dorms, the Keefe Campus Center and renovated and/or expanded Merrill Science. Design of the project was to be begun this year, though the economic climate and other considerations may slow progress. It will all get done, just perhaps not as quickly as some would hope.

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