Housing, Dining, VSG collaborate to make drastic changes to Kissam Quad over summer.

 

Kissam Quadrangle has a reputation for being one of the least desirable places to live on campus, but all that may change with the improvements to the buildings scheduled to take place over the summer.

Upgrades and renovations include new carpet in all buildings, new laundry facilities in Kissam Hall, plasma TVs and a Varsity Market in Hemingway Hall. The modifications will total more than $1.3 million.

Changes already in place or under way include the replacement of curtains with blinds, new carpet in corridors and student rooms, furniture upgrades and bathroom upgrades. This summer will see the addition of one controlled-access entrance from the courtyard side of each building, desk chair replacement and picnic tables between Dyer and Kissam halls, Currey and Hemingway halls, Kissam and Mims halls, and Currey and Dyer halls.

How much will the changes cost? Will Kissam still be demolished?

About $1.3 million from the Office of Housing and Residential Education will fund the renovations in Kissam. The budget for the Varsity Market will come from Dining and is not yet determined.

The most expensive improvements are the carpet replacement ($403,926), furniture upgrades ($358,000), and Kissam laundry and kitchen additions ($251,000).

But in spite of the upgrades and investment, Kissam will be demolished within the next three to four years to make way for new College Halls residences.
Jim Kramka, senior director for housing facilities, operation and management, said Kissam will come down in the future, but the changes in the meantime are not a waste of money.

"We've picked Kissam as something that students are telling us needs additional attention," he said. "(But) we don't want to waste your money. We don't want to see that money lost in a tear down. ... We're trying to be prudent with how we spend the money."

Director of Facilities for Housing Ann Nielson made a similar statement, pointing out that most of the furniture and other amenities can be reused. She also said the money comes directly from Housing, not from the endowment or other university funds.

Who will live in Kissam?

Some changes have gradually taken place in the buildings over the last three years, since it was determined upperclassmen would eventually reside there, said Vanderbilt Student Government President Joseph Williams.

"While Kissam Quad will be (demolished) in the future, several years of upperclassmen will be living in Kissam," he said, "and those residence halls in their current state are simply not quality upperclassman living."

VSG Vice President Wyatt Smith agreed.

"We've rallied for the last couple years that if upperclassmen are living in Kissam, they should have a higher quality of life (than what is currently offered)," he said.

Because the Class of 2012 will live in The Commons on Peabody campus - traditionally sophomore housing - upperclassmen will now reside in traditionally freshman housing, including Kissam.

"(Housing) knew when upperclassmen were scheduled to live there, the improvements needed to be made," Nielson said. "We started (making changes) three summers ago when we started planning for (the current changes)."

Will mold be a problem?

According to Kramka, Housing hopes to eradicate any issues with mold during the summer. Room-by-room checks will be conducted, and any problems will be addressed, he said.

"We'll meet with Plant Operations to look comprehensively at the situation, but we don't believe there's a systemic issue here," Kramka said. "(Mold can grow) in any room if the conditions are right, but we want to look at everything and make sure it's operating right."

VSG Director of Public Relations Theodore Samets said he does not believe the mold is a major problem for Kissam and that VSG "couldn't be happier with how Housing handled the situation."

What kind of Varsity Market will go in?

Hemingway Market will be constructed to occupy about half of the Hemingway lobby, with the other half to hold tables and chairs in a lounge area.

According to Interim Director of Dining Camp Howard, the market will be slightly larger than the Junior Varsity Market in Sarratt Student Center but will contain many of the same amenities found in the Varsity Market in Carmichael Towers East.

Howard said Hemingway Market will have "typical Munchie Mart items," as well as coffee drinks, like espresso and cappuccino.

He said the budget is fluid, as Dining is still taking bids for construction and the market is in the planning stage.

"We wanted to provide students (in Kissam) with the same things students in other pockets of campus have," he said. "It'll be fun; we're excited about it."

Did VSG do this?

Upperclassman housing improvements were a cornerstone of Williams' and Smith's VSG campaign, and Smith said Kissam has a lot of room for improvement.

"(Even with the changes) Kissam may not be up to par with some other buildings, but the goal is to make it better," he said. "We want to work toward a system where living in Kissam has a lot of positives."

Williams said upperclassmen deserve a higher quality experience than Kissam in its current state would provide and the modifications would improve the area.

"This will be the living space for rising sophomore for the next two to three years, and it needs lots of improvements - not just small ones but big ones," he said. "This Kissam will be much different than the one of prior years at Vanderbilt."

 

—Elizabeth Middlebrooks can be reached at e.middlebrooks@vanderbilt.edu