The plan by neighborhood: Loy Center

The Loy Center is an existing residential community on campus that functions as a neighborhood. It connects students’ organizational involvement with their living arrangements in a way that builds strong relationships. The common rooms are used daily for chapter-related activities, study groups, and general community building. Events such as “Trick-or-Treat on Greek Street,” “Light Up Loy” (at Christmas), and the Greek Week kick-off picnic bring in upper-level students and the greater Greek community to foster a strong sense of belonging.

With a couple of exceptions, the facilities are currently filled with members of the sophomore class. By including some juniors or seniors in the housing, our goals of improved academic support, mentorship, and leadership transitions could be better accomplished. With that and a number of additional safety, programmatic, and logistical concerns in mind, we envision the following:

• Build four 10-13 person full houses in the Loy Center with at least two single bedrooms, no triples, and common rooms larger than in existing houses
• Build one house split into two 4- or 5-person half houses in the Loy Center allowing additional small organizations – typically our NPHC groups – to have a presence in the Loy Center
• Use some of the suites in the new Colonnades buildings as needed for new Greek organizations
• Relocate the apartment for the Assistant Director of Greek Life, which will be lost when the north area is replaced, to the Colonnades.

> See a draft of a floorplan for one of the new Loy Center houses

Enhancing Current Facilities: Rather than build all new facilities, it is suggested that renovations are done on the existing houses to upgrade the laundry facilities, create more single bedroom options, eliminate the triples, expand the first-floor common area to better accommodate the larger organizations and possibly add bedrooms above this space (to keep occupancy numbers up when converting to singles).

Each house has a back deck that encourages outdoor community building activities within an organization. The houses are built around courtyards, but there are no grills, basketball courts, volleyball courts to encourage the casual community building activities that are available in other residential areas.  These would be well-used and appreciated additions to the Loy Center.