After continued delays, construction on Sophia Gordon Hall willbegin after May 2005 graduation, Director of Residential LifeYolanda King told the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate lastSunday.
King updated senators about progress on Sophia Gordon Hall andsaid it will open for students in fall 2006.
Designed as an environmentally-friendly building, Sophia GordonHall will feature solar panels on the roof and windows, King said.Energy from the panels will heat a portion of the hall's hotwater.
The new design includes two sister buildings located next toStratton hall that will face Talbot Ave. This will require thedestruction of two buildings, but without the loss of Universityspace, King said.
Plans for Sophia Gordon Hall began three years ago when formeracting Dean of Academic Services and Student Affairs KristineDillon and Dean of Students Bruce Reitman convened a ResidentialLife Planning Committee to collect student feedback.
"This feedback indicated that priorities were singles andcooking facilities," King said.
Architecture firm William Rawn designed Sophia Gordon Hall inresponse to such feedback. William Rawn also designed the CampusCenter.
The new dorm will have 125 beds to be assigned to upper-classstudents via the housing lottery. The suites will include akitchen, common area, single bedrooms and bathroom facilities, Kingsaid.
Sophia Gordon Hall will also feature a theater with nearly 200removable seats. The theater will be available to the hall'sresidents as well as campus organizations for practices andrehearsals.
Classes may also be held in the theater.
"The layout of the building, so far, seems very studentfriendly, but there are still many details that need to be workedout," Trustee Representative and former TCU President Chike Aguhsaid. "The TCU Senate is hoping to get the architectural firm ...to give us a presentation."
King also discussed administrator-student communicationsregarding the dorm. "At this time, the Office of Residential Lifeand Learning is meeting with various student groups to obtainfeedback on recommendations for amenities," she said.
"The University already has plans for student input on the newdorm and the TCU Senate will continue to push for that," Aguh said."So far the entire process has been reasonably open and transparentand we all hope it remains as such."
Senators' opinions varied as to whom would be allowed to live inSophia Gordon Hall. "I think this should be [just] juniors andseniors ... to keep seniors connected to the community," TCUPresident Dave Baumwoll said.
Others thought the building should be intended only for juniorsdue to the shortage of housing available to them. Although thefinal decision has not been made, King said the dorm "will not beavailable to first-years."
There will be no first-year housing shortage next year, as HillHall is becoming an all first-year dorm.
The building was originally planned as an L-shaped structure onProfessors Row but its construction was delayed after the city ofSomerville declared that portion of Professors Row a historicsite.
"Any delays that have been encountered have been a result ofmatters beyond the University's control such as the SomervilleHistoric Preservation Society," Aguh said. "I think that SophiaGordon Hall is progressing as fast as it can be right now."
