Although the steam plant and surrounding warehouses on Campus Drive do not appear to hold much promise for student use, a committee of the Campus Social Board has optimistic visions for the unused facility.
Led by Trinity sophomore Laura Hayman, the group is in the preliminary stages of a project that could potentially bring a ballroom, bowling alley or late-night bistro to the buildings near the East Campus bridge.
Although Hayman does not expect to complete her committee's proposal until the end of this or the beginning of the next academic year, she said she is now gathering feedback from as many student groups as possible in order to strengthen the proposal's credibility.
"The more input we get, the better the proposal can be," she said. "We have to look at both the negative and good to consider all the facets of the proposal."
Because the plan is still in its earliest phases, its costs have not yet been evaluated. Before estimating how much funding a project on this scale would require, the administration must receive a definite proposal.
Nevertheless, Executive Vice President Tallman Trask said that merely cleaning out the steam plant-which must be cleared of asbestos-could cost between $3 and 4 million. In addition, he said, no major projects are likely to be started until the residential life review and the Bryan Center renovation plan are complete.
Hayman and her committee are still trying to determine what students would like new programming space to include.
Associate Vice President for Auxiliary Services Joe Pietrantoni said that gathering student information is critical to this kind of project, pointing to the failure of the multipurpose space built on Central Campus several years ago, subsequently transformed into the Devil's Den.
"You have to define a program plan that the student body thinks will be good today and good 10 years from now," he said. "You have to ask the student body how it will remain popular."
Once Hayman gathers information from more students, she said, "the next stage is logistics: where you put what, how much it would cost."
Administrators and members of the CSB agree that increasing social programming space should be a priority for the University. Trask cited two other buildings that serve programming purposes-the East Campus Gym and the Intramural Building-but said that they don't always achieve their potential in this capacity.
"It was the clear intent that the East Campus Gym would be used for [programming]," he said. "There ought to be more use of the IM building for things, but it's complicated because of [the recreation facility] construction." Trask said the upcoming Bryan Center renovations will be instrumental in providing more social space for less money.
Pietrantoni also acknowledged that some of the space currently available is inadequate: "Von Canon is not meeting the needs of students, from what I hear," he said.
Both Pietrantoni and Trask said the choice between constructing a new building and renovating an old one depend on the facility's purpose.
The CSB is considering options ranging from an ice-skating rink to an interactive game room with pool tables and foosball.
Both agree that the steam plant could provide an interesting place to house social events.
"The power plant is a wonderful building, and could be quite special as something else," Trask said.
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