Residence Halls & apartments

[VULB#62]

Just for curiosity, what became of the dining room between Wehrenberg and Brandt and the dining facility in Scheele?  .......Argh, This dates me.

[historyman]

Just for curiosity, what became of the dining room between Wehrenberg and Brandt and the dining facility in Scheele?  .......Argh, This dates me.

I believe both were remodeled into lounges with comfy furniture and such. But not the airport type. Can anyone confirm?

[valpotx]

Brandt still had a dining room while I was in school, but it was never in operation, having been closed for a few years as far as food service.  It still had a café setup at that time, in regards to seating.  Dining was at 'Berg, old union, and Lankenau, I believe.

Interesting to read that article saying that there are no phones in the building, showing how much has changed in just 10 years.  I remember that it was rare for someone to have a cell phone on campus, and we still used calling cards often

[valporun]

Yes, I remember often needing to get a new calling card, or re-up my calling minutes. I'm surprised there will be no phones in the new dorm for the sake of local calls, or room-to-room, although I'm sure with all the texting that gets done these days, who needs a phone in the room?

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Man, that's tough to hear, because my first job was working Dining Services in the summers.  Usually in the Wehrenberg/Brandt kitchen.  Those were some good times.  Everyone should work food service at some point in your life because otherwise, you just never know what it takes to get it there!

I would come home and mom would want me to do the dishes.  "Mom, I just did 200 band kids' dishes!"  "Well, 4 more won't kill you then, will it?"

[okinawatyphoon]

Yes, I remember often needing to get a new calling card, or re-up my calling minutes. I'm surprised there will be no phones in the new dorm for the sake of local calls, or room-to-room, although I'm sure with all the texting that gets done these days, who needs a phone in the room?

There are no phones in the rooms, but there are emergency phones "throughout the hallways."

[govalpogo]

Prior to the Harre Union opening there were dining halls open and active in Berg, Brandt, and there was a "general store" (good for breakfast, snackage, and emergency supplies) in Lank.  Centralized dining really enabled me to see a lot more of my friends during meal times which is helpful if your major-specific classes keep you on opposite ends of campus during the day.   

[okinawatyphoon]

The consolidated dining concept was really a great idea. I spent 3 years with separated cafeterias and the last year with the Union, and it really did build a sense of community because you knew your friends would be going to the same place. I just hope that with the increase in students that it doesn't become too overcrowded.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

See, this is strange to me; I went to a school with 1900 students and we had like 5 dining halls.

I think it would have made me eat out in town a lot more just to get different scenery!

[valpotx]

Interesting that they opened Brandt for food service after I left.  I think that they still cooked things out of that kitchen, but it wasn't served there, instead being served in Berg.

[vu72]

Here is a tour of Beacon Hall.  Very nice!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO-5Ak7DaXs#t=11

[okinawatyphoon]

Here is a tour of Beacon Hall.  Very nice!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO-5Ak7DaXs#t=11

It's very impressive. I can't wait until more dorms like this are constructed on campus.

[78crusader]

Does anyone on this board know for sure when the next dorm will be built?  I seem to recall that President Heckler said this past spring that as soon as Beacon Hall was ready, construction would begin on another new dorm.  When I was on campus a couple weeks ago I spoke with a few people who are in the loop, but no one seemed to know when or where the next dorm would be built. 

I did look at the lot just east of the ARC and while it is true that it has been cleared, the house on the northeast corner is still there and it seems to me you can't really build a new dorm on that lot as long as the house is there.  One person I spoke with thought the new dorm would be placed where the Linwood Apartments used to be, just south of Guild Memorial.  I've heard that from other people as well.

The folks I spoke with indicated the next academic building would be a new science building, but I got the feeling the proposed date of spring 2015 was iffy since funding isn't all in place yet.  I know a new science building at Wheaton cost $80 million, which is nearly $10 million more than the Union cost.  I've heard that perhaps this new building would be built in two phases to alleviate funding concerns. 

Paul

[bbtds]

Not exactly..................................................it depends on which design they chose.

Here are some of the finalists for dorm design








































































And the real kicker is that these are all images of university/college livings arrangements somewhere in the world.

The modular one with the crane dropping a section into place is from Muhlenberg College.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Hey don't knock Florida Poly.

[original sin]

Any school will take your money if you qualify regardless.

[okinawatyphoon]

Per the interview with President Heckler on WVUR, the university has "taken possession" of the University Promenade development (the new condos on University street). Not sure if we bought them or lease them, but it sounds similar to what we did with Uptown East.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

the university has "taken possession" of the University Promenade development

[okinawatyphoon]

While checking out the Hagerman Group's website to see if there were renderings of the Sorority House complex, I found a list of their Valparaiso University projects. Listed under the Residential Projects, there's the Sorority Housing and "5 new residence halls." I guess the Hagerman Group won the contract for all of the additional residence halls. I just hope they all match the quality of Beacon Hall!

[agibson]

Just for curiosity, what became of the dining room between Wehrenberg and Brandt and the dining facility in Scheele?  .......Argh, This dates me.

I believe both were remodeled into lounges with comfy furniture and such. But not the airport type. Can anyone confirm?

Last I heard the Berg cafeteria was being used to hold surplus furniture.

In my tenure as a student , 96-00, the berg cafeteria was open throughout.  Brandt was open, for a year or three, but on a limited basis.  Was it just one meal?  Breakfast? Or maybe it was training table only? 

After it closed it was left with cafeteria tables and booths, and was basically study space through 2000, at least.

[agibson]

While checking out the Hagerman Group's website to see if there were renderings of the Sorority House complex, I found a list of their Valparaiso University projects. Listed under the Residential Projects, there's the Sorority Housing and "5 new residence halls." I guess the Hagerman Group won the contract for all of the additional residence halls. I just hope they all match the quality of Beacon Hall!

It's my understanding that the sorority housing project is the last new housing in current plans.  Probably Scheele gets renovated, and perhaps other dorms do as well.  But, as of last academic year, there aren't more planned. The anticipated larger student population will be housed, I guess, in other ways.  (More international and possibly a bit older, more likely to live off campus?  And/or Uptown style?)

I've not seen a detailed plan but the "no more new dorms" was surprising and definitely got my attention.

[agibson]

The folks I spoke with indicated the next academic building would be a new science building, but I got the feeling the proposed date of spring 2015 was iffy since funding isn't all in place yet.  I know a new science building at Wheaton cost $80 million, which is nearly $10 million more than the Union cost.  I've heard that perhaps this new building would be built in two phases to alleviate funding concerns. 

Probably at least three phases.  The first was in a fairly advanced state of planning last spring, but was deemed too expensive for the proposed product.  The process partially restarted in an effort to get more bang for the buck.  I think it's meant to go in front of the board for approval this spring.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Ah, memories...my first job was working catering/dining services.  Mostly in the shared kitchen between Brandt/'Berg.  (read: DISHES, GALORE)

Fun times.  How dining at VU has changed!  Yikes.

[okinawatyphoon]

Thanks for the updates and insights, agibson. 

[Vale O. Paradise]

Interesting to compare the announcement of sorority housing and Scheele renovation to the master plan's original vision... 

For one, the master plan says that the difference between a major renovation of a residence hall and constructing one is not too different (for them, $10M), so it suggests just building new. But I guess there isn't enough money to make that happen, at least with Scheele, as the plan is to renovate it (unless the remodel is a very temporary fix to get another couple years out of the building). Does anybody know the extent of the renovations?

Do you know which STEEM building they are planning (or re-planning)? The m. plan has three buildings going up in three phases. It seems to indicate a replacement for education will be the first, followed by a physics, chem, bio building (more than twice as expensive), followed by the third.


Master plan link: goo.gl/xLpK50
pp. 48, 94, 212-215