Picture arriving on campus for the upcoming fall semester. There are so many changes to formerly familiar buildings on campus, and you can’t imagine how it all was done in three months.
There is a whole new part of Daniel Commons with an Einstein Bros Bagels, and Danieley Neighborhood added a huge gym. There is also a complex next to Skid’s. What used to be there, anyway? Oh, and something looks different about McEwen.
Students who don't return to campus until the fall just see these things pop up, but those of us who stayed around Elon University for the summer saw all the changes happen right before our eyes.
Daniel Commons and Danieley Recreation Center
As a former Danieley resident, I saw these changes pop up overnight. I drove past Danieley one day, and suddenly there was a huge metal structure across from it. Construction began for the addition to the Commons building and Recreation Center while students were still on campus, but students from all areas of Elon will surely make the trek to Danieley to see the completed buildings and enjoy an Einstein bagel.
School of Communications
Students knew this was coming — or at least communications majors did. There were millions of dollars raised and loads of publicity about this development.
But hearing about it and seeing it are two different things. I returned to campus to see the McEwen area looking very different. And I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then, I realized that some of the tall, beautiful trees that had previously lived around the parking lot had been cut down to make way for a pile of orange dirt. Construction is only a couple of weeks in, and isn’t slated to be completed until Fall 2016, so it will be interesting to see what else changes in the iconic area.
Park Place at Elon
Students likely noticed some type of construction going on next to Kangaroo before they left, but now it’s hard to miss, with a four-story tower looming over the construction site. The space will hold 45 apartments above ground-floor shops. So far the construction draws your eye to the area with a single tower being the tallest building around, but hopefully after all the finishing touches are put on, it will be a great place for students to enjoy.
Elon has been a swirling vortex of construction, with renovations to Moseley Student Center, a new admissions building, the Global Neighborhood and more. Students are used to the ever-present construction workers and fences barring them from construction zones, and that’s a good thing, since Elon doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.