Construction for new apartments causes move-in delays

Students slated for early move-in to the new PPR apartments will have to wait an extra week to be given access to the new dorm.
Fifteen students were scheduled to move into new PPR on Saturday, August 19. Isaiah Thomas, Assistant Director of Residential Communities, said the new apartments are now scheduled to open on Saturday, Aug. 26.
“Early arrival students who are approved and scheduled to arrive to campus before that day will live in temporary housing near the apartments until the 26th. We have already been communicating directly with those students affected,” Thomas said.  
Clare Perez ’19 was one of the students impacted by this change. Perez, who lives in Chicago, was contacted on Monday, Aug. 14 that she would be living in Palmer until new PPR is available. She found the news exasperating.
“They should have known which students/rooms were being moved into earlier, and focused on finishing those first. I don’t live near Swarthmore at all and therefore will have all my things with me on the early move-in date.  Further, they put me on the third floor of a building with no elevator, so I have to move all my things up … only to move them back down and across to another dorm one week later,” Perez said.
Shivani Chinappan ’19, another early move-in student, was concerned by the timing of the date change notice.
“I think it’s mainly just really inconvenient to have to move in two separate times, especially for people traveling far who had to make arrangements to move their things. More time to prepare would have been nice, [five] days before people move in is extremely short notice.”
Thomas says most of the remaining work is focused on the exterior and the terrace.
“The bulk of the work on the interior of the apartments is complete.  Some of the furniture that will be in all individual apartment common area living room spaces is scheduled to be placed in mid-September. All bedroom/dining furniture will be in place when students move in,” she said.  
Although the apartments are slated for move-in on August 26, renovations to the buildings will continue well into the fall semester.
“The pathways and exterior lighting, interior and exterior cleaning of windows, and renovations to the baseball field will continue for a couple of weeks. There may be final adjustments in individual suites which will be scheduled in advance with residents. All work in the building should be completed around October 1,” Thomas said. The Arboretum staff will also be planting green spaces as well as the roof terraces throughout the fall. Palmer, the building in which the affected students will be temporarily living, has also recently undergone renovations along with Pittenger.
Both Thomas and Susan Smythe of Facilities are optimistic about the new living situations.
“We think students will be very pleased with how the building has turned out and we appreciate students’ patience as we put the finishing touches in place,” they said.
Regardless of how long the construction takes, it will be a significant presence for students living in or near new PPR. The Phoenix will continue to follow the ongoing renovations to the apartments as well as other structures on campus in our first issue.