Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Nevils Set for Summer Revamp

MICHELLE CASSIDY FOR THE HOYA All kitchens in Nevils will be redone this summer in the extensive remodeling.
MICHELLE CASSIDY FOR THE HOYA
All kitchens in Nevils will be redone this summer in the extensive remodeling.

The Office of Student Housing announced in an email Monday night that a summer-long revamp of the Nevils apartment complex will start this May.

“Improvements will include new heating and cooling systems, lighting and windows; complete renovations to bathrooms and kitchens; and updates to the fire alarm system,” Patrick Killilee, director of Housing Services, wrote in the email to current Nevils residents, adding that furniture in the apartments will also be replaced.

The redesign of the complex, located at 36th and N streets, will be the latest large-scale renovation to occur in an on-campus residence hall since the removal of asbestos from Darnall Hall rooms last summer. According to Director of Media Relations Rachel Pugh, Nevils was last renovated in 1984.

The university said that students living in all four sections of the building, which can house about 435 residents, must relocate by May 16 in order for facilities to complete the project by the fall of 2011. Non-senior residents must head out by May 15, a day after final exams end.

For the 54 seniors living in Nevils, the May 16 deadline falls on the Monday of Senior Week, just days before they will don their graduation robes on commencement weekend. According to Killilee, seniors will be relocated to on-campus apartments — to be assigned in early May — with the help of moving trucks.

Many Nevils residents in their last semesters on the Hilltop said the shift only adds to the frustration they have experienced with their living conditions this year.

Cristina Cardenal (COL ’11) said that her apartment has a mouse problem, an oven which does not have a working temperature gauge and a leaky ceiling.

“We live in shambles — Nevils needs to be fixed,” she said. “We just don’t understand why it has to be in our last six days here.”

Jason Kestecher (COL ’11) said that moving out of his apartment is one of many inconveniences he has dealt with while living in Nevils. These problems included broken furniture, a power outage in January and loss of heat for a period of time during the winter, he said.

Cardenal and Kestecher are both concerned that this renovation, and its side effects, will affect the way some seniors view their soon-to-be alma mater.

Cardenal said that she believes certain Nevils seniors may not be as willing to give financial donations or visit campus after the interruption of their final days on the Hilltop.

“It is insulting to be treated this way. It is definitely going to affect how we look back on our senior year,” she said.

Though he will not let the relocation define his own Georgetown career, Kestecher said it may affect other students more strongly.

“It’s like a little bit of a bad taste that remains in your mouth,” he said.

Pugh said that students have to move out early in order to ensure that all renovations can be made in a timely manner.

“The inconvenience of an early move out is necessary since every day and multiple shifts are required in order to complete the renovations before students return to campus for the fall semester,” Pugh said in an email.

But for many of next year’s Nevils residents, the updated facilities will only add to the excitement of living in an apartment-style environment.

“I’m excited because Nevils feels like a real house,” said Kris Kagei (COL ’13), a current Henle resident who will be moving to Nevils next year. “And having everything newer and cleaner, it just makes me more excited about being a real person even though you are still at school.”

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