Disclaimer: This is a satirical piece.
By Ashley Mott
As of March 31, 2018, the contract for American Campus Communities (ACC) to take over Terminal Tower in downtown Cleveland has been signed. Officials say that ACC plans to work with Cleveland State University to turn the 52-story building into the newest dormitories on campus.
The plan is for the first 40 floors of the skyscraper to be designated to the dorms, while the other 12 floors will become the new offices, resource rooms, and conference areas for future Residence Life staff.
The project is set to start internal renovations in May 2019 with a projected completion date of July 2023.
Project manager Josh Mclaughlin has optimistic views on how this new project will positively impact Cleveland State.
“We want students to really feel like they are in the heart of downtown while they stay here with us in the future,” Mclaughlin said.
Part of the appeal of Cleveland State is the downtown atmosphere, and ACC is looking to bring that downtown feeling into the building with their renovations.
Sources say that the changes being made will not take away from the character that was built into it during its construction in the 1930s, but rather give a modern update to the more outdated facets within.
The dorms are set to be laid out in more of an apartment type style featuring walk-in closets, en suite bathrooms and more.
The rooms on the first 20 floors will be set up suite style with four private bedrooms, four private bathrooms, one common living room and a kitchen. Following that, the next 10 floors will be similar, only containing six bedrooms and bathrooms instead of four.
The last 10 floors are going to be set up as private residences for seniors, graduate students, married students, those with children or those who need other accommodations.
The new offices above the residence halls will allow the future staff members of Residence Life to have their own offices for student concerns, programming and other clerical tasks.
According to Mclaughlin, they are bringing in a team of current students, staff and prospective students to create a panel for ACC on campus to help with the layouts of the dorms. The idea is to create the most appealing layouts for the typical college student while adhering to fire code, safety regulations and other building stipulations.
The panel will meet with ACC officials monthly to discuss their thoughts on the project. While it has been made clear that there is no guarantee for all their suggestions to be put into the project, Mclaughlin has stated that ACC will be taking their thoughts into account.
ACC’s Regional Coordinator Lauren Donahue is taking the lead on the project’s interior design and is looking forward to working with her team of designers.
“The building is old, but it has good bones, with the remodel, I am sure that Cleveland State’s newest students will be happy living here,” Donahue said.
The new administration at Cleveland State, along with those at ACC, believes that this is the right move for the university.
Assistant Provost Diana Welch hopes that this addition will also bring more attention to the university outside of its commuter status.
“Cleveland State has been known in the past as a commuter school,” Welch said. “This new addition will start to change that image and hopefully make our university appealing to many more students.”
While these changes are set almost a year in the making, Cleveland State has shown its want and need to continue to grow.
From the new engineering building, to the new film school and now the new dormitories, Cleveland State is continuously adding on to eventually catch the eye of students globally.
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