By Deborah Malamud

Plans for Gund Commons construction are underway and set to be completed directly following Winter Break. “The recent upcoming work at Gund Commons is really a combination of three projects: computer lab renovation, office renovation and the Gund Commons elevator,” Steven Arnett, interim director of facility operations, wrote in an email.

The computer lab renovation “made the most sense to tackle first,” Arnett wrote. This project consisted of the construction of a computer lab downstairs in order to create space for new Housing and Residential Life (ResLife) offices in place of the computer lab on the ground floor.

Moving the computer lab downstairs provided the “opportunity to create accessible bathrooms on the main level,” Chief Business Officer Mark Kohlman said, and makes it possible for the Student Activities Office to move into ResLife’s current offices by the new year.

Like Dean of Students Hank Toutain, Kohlman believes the changes being made to Gund Commons will “help facilitate and consolidate interactions” between students, staff and faculty.

In order to even further increase accessibility, “the Gund Commons elevator project will be submitted … for consideration next spring,” according to Arnett. If approved, construction will begin next summer.

Amelia Dunnell ’17 says she personally supports the construction of an elevator because of “the trend of the administration making this campus more accessible, especially to people with disabilities.”