On Sept. 19, the CUSG senate meeting introduced Kathy Hobgood, the associate vice president for Auxiliary Enterprises, who spoke to the senate about Clemson Home and Aramark’s plans going forward for on-campus housing construction and future dining initiatives.
“First, we have been working on an overhaul and redesign of the Dish at McAlister dining hall. We have also been working on some technology advancements, specifically our partnership with Grubhub,” stated Hobgood. “We are going to have a new ordering system where students can order from their phone or from a kiosk at the Hendrix Center or Which Wich, and then your number will come up on a screen when your order is ready. This can stop you from waiting in excessive lines.”
Along with the future technological advancements, Clemson Dining is opening the full-size Panda Express and Chick-fil-A at the Hendrix Center.
“During the first week of classes, the current Chick-fil-A doubled everyone else’s business, making something like $19,000 that week, which is a lot for a campus retail location, so we know we need more space,” commented Hobgood.
After discussing these advancements, the presentation shifted to talk about the future architectural plans for on-campus housing and redevelopment.
“Each year, we allocate spaces for RAs and Living Learning Communities, as well as some spaces for Student Accessibility Services,” said Hobgood. “One of the things that is really important to Clemson’s DNA is that we are a residential campus. We want to keep our campus running so that at least all of our freshman class can live on campus because we feel that that is a very formative college experience.”
Johnstone is set for demolition within the next 18 months, with other on-campus housing debates currently being discussed.
“We also looked at Thornhill Villages and the Low Rises, and what can be done with those in the next five to seven years. Can we improve them, or should we demolish and rebuild?” continued Hobgood. “The Shoe Boxes are in a similar situation but are on a slightly different timeline that will end probably around 2035. We also know that the High Rises need to be renovated while still preserving those lower-cost housing options for students.”
The remodeling of the High Rises will take place in the next five years, while also adding an additional building to the Douthit Hills community.
“We plan to renovate each of the High Rises, by adding wet core bathrooms, new study and meeting spaces, and new lounge areas to each floor. These renovations will happen over the course of three years, with one High Rise building being renovated and ‘off’ each academic year. We are also planning on replacing the entrances to these halls, so that rather than facing Schilletter, they will face each other, and we will have a renewed outdoor community space there,” said Hobgood.
Other considerations include building a “freshmen-sized village” in the Thornhill Village and building more housing for students at the Johnstone site, which would take place after the next five years and in the later future.
“I would love to build a community space close to the Quad, because we know that Smith and Barnette will eventually need to be demolished. There’s also lots of people who would love to build on the motor pool site, and we could add up to 600 beds in that area,” Hobgood added.
Another future housing project will take place on the site of the Shoeboxes, where a space similar to the Honors College at Cribbs and Deschamps would be looked into.
A question was raised by Senator Rachel Castellani about where students would be housed when the construction and demolition near Bryan Mall would take place.
“We will continue to hold up our commitment to housing all first-year and Bridge students, so we will have a couple of options. We will likely have to sacrifice housing at Calhoun Courts that are currently reserved for returning students, and some of those will be first-year students,” answered Hobgood.
Concern about the future enrollment student growth rate were also asked and addressed.
More information and updates will be discussed and shared; look for updates from The Tiger.
An earlier version of this article stated in the article caption that the High Rises were to be demolished, when they will only be renovated and not destroyed. The Tiger regrets this error and has since corrected it.
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Clemson Home presents future architecture plans
Emma Vick, News Editor
September 29, 2022
![The High Rises will be renovated, which will have blueprints that will be released later on this semester.](https://thetigercu.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/d31c236b3efad1afdf452fbcd260cb68-1.jpg)
Flickr // Courtesy
The High Rises will be renovated, which will have blueprints that will be released later on this semester.
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