On Monday, VSG will host a town hall for students to voice their concerns over the current construction behind Kensington Place. The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Sarratt 216/220, and lunch will be available for students who attend. The town hall will feature dialogue from Dean of Students Mark Bandas and Director of Housing Operations Jim Kramka. The event will also include input from Campus Planning and Construction and delegates from the construction company.
The town hall is meant to be an open conversation between students, VSG representatives, Vanderbilt administration and the construction company. Students will have the opportunity to discuss the effects of the Tarpley Lot construction on their living situations.
According to Vice Chancellor of Administration Eric Kopstain in an interview, the residential college on the Tarpley lot will open in the fall of 2020, with West Towers coming down in May 2020 and East Towers coming down in 2021. The construction of the $600 million West End project will be delivered in stages, to minimize the disruption of students currently living in the area.
“If you think of E. Bronson Ingram Hall as phase one and the Tarpley site as phase two, there’s going to be a phase three and four for the whole West End project,” Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Susan Wente said. “This was complicated to figure out, because of the physical aspect of how current structures are connected with one another, and how we maintain and really make our commitment to students in terms of an on campus experience during these transitions.”