Official Campus Club opening delayed until next fall

After being pushed from September 2008 to April 2009, the official opening of the building has been postponed again, this time to next fall.

“We don’t have any grand opening plans for this semester at this point,” Spatafore said, adding that she anticipates a “soft opening” in late April.

Campus Club Advisory Board member Cynthia Kroll ’11 also said she expected an opening after the start of the next academic year.

“It’s questionable that the club will be open in time for spring Lawnparties,” she said. “Hopefully, it will open this fall.”

Campus Club closed its doors in September 2005 because of economic troubles and declining membership. The club donated the 11,000-square-foot building to the University, which announced in May 2007 that it would reopen the club as a social venue and study space for members of the University community.

Construction began that spring, but asbestos was discovered in the building, delaying construction. Spatafore said that several minor issues during construction contributed to the overall delay.

“The renovation schedule was extended this past summer due to unanticipated conditions discovered in the building once demolition began, which required redesign of some minor site work details and approval of these revisions by community building officials,” she explained in a follow-up e-mail.

Spatafore said it is not uncommon for renovations projects to be delayed. There can be considerable problems with acquiring permits from municipal officials or obtaining necessary materials for construction. A building that is in bad condition and requires extensive structural repairs can also lead to prolonged project timetables, she explained.

“There always is a range of issues that can delay a project, and it was a combination of issues that delayed the building’s opening,” Spatafore said. “Because we were only able to discover some of these issues once demolition began, we needed time to redesign some construction details and gain approvals for these revisions. The important thing is that construction is moving along, and the building is expected to open in the spring.”

A long-awaited opening

When it opens, the building will include a variety of meeting spaces for students as well as flat-screen televisions and table tennis and pool tables.

Spatafore said that the club will feature a variety of small spaces that can be used by individuals or for student events. The kitchen, for example, will be converted to a space where students can watch films, rehearse plays or practice dance.

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Kroll added that she believes the space will be conducive to many small-scale student events. “It would be really cool to bring in a speaker to talk in one of the rooms there,” she said.

Kroll explained that there have been discussions about giving the bar in the club’s basement to a student group to run as a cafe.

While the Frist Campus Center already serves as a meeting place and a venue for events, Kroll said that she hopes Campus will become “a cozier version of Frist,” a place with “a more homey feel.”

Spatafore explained that the club will differ from Frist because of the difference between the architectures of the buildings. The smaller building will help maintain an intimate feel for the club, she said.

“The club is going to retain much of the feel and warmth of an eating club,” she said. “It’s a more personal feeling.”

Campus alumni will also have an office in the building to maintain a physical presence in the club, though the office will not be in use for most of the year, Kroll noted.

The club’s alumni will use the building at selected times in the year, such as during football games against Harvard and Yale and the time around Reunions and Alumni Day, Spatafore said.

If Campus Club does not fully open this semester, the advisory board plans to host some preview events this spring to spark interest in the club’s facilities. Spatafore said she hopes this will factor into student groups’ planning for fall-semester events.

On Friday, Spatafore will meet with representatives from the Office of Design and Construction as well as Associate Dean of Undergraduate Students Thomas Dunne and Vice President for Campus Life Janet Dickerson to discuss construction progress and get a better sense of when the club will open.