Theaters to remain in Revlon

The administration-favored design plan for the Revlon Center, which would not include The Book Store, will not reduce space designated for student use. According to a report completed by Interim Provost Marvin Lazerson last month, all student activities that were in the original plans remain on the table. Lazerson listed several "central principles" which guided the Revlon Center's development in the report. "The Center should contribute to the intellectual and social life of the campus" and bring students together with faculty, staff and alumni in an interactive environment, the report stated. Lazerson emphasized the need for the center to cater to its "chief users," students, though, and the importance of fulfilling "the needs of future generations" of University members was also at the top of his list of priorities. Several different design options for the center are outlined in his report, but the one which advocates The Book Store move is the one Lazerson will most likely recommend to the Univeristy Board of Trustees. In his report, Lazerson divides program spaces in the center into fixed area spaces and scalable spaces. The plan that does not include The Book Store has two fixed area spaces in them -- an auditorium and the Black Box theatre. The auditorium would have an area of 3,645 square feet, while the Black Box theater would take up 3,728 square feet. Associate Vice Provost for University Life Larry Moneta, a member of the Revlon Center Program Committee, said he believes the Black Box theatre and auditorium will be "state of the art facilities" that can accommodate the needs of student performing arts groups. Among the elements that would be included in the scalable spaces are meeting rooms, music practice and rehearsal rooms, a lounge and an art gallery. Student organizations that would have space in the center include Penn Student Agencies, the University Student Federal Credit Union, the Health Education Resource Center and the Penn Women's Center. McCoullum said last night she thinks the idea of having The Book Store as a separate building, located in the area of 36th and Sansom streets, is a "wonderful" idea. "What we're talking about now is a multi-use, multi-purpose spatial design of related buildings and people," she said. McCoullum said that if The Book Store is included in the Revlon Center, it would take up only 12,500 square feet. "This is not a bookstore that befits an institution of our size and rigor," she said. And McCoullum added that building a new bookstore would enable the University to replace the current one located at 37th Street and Locust Walk. "If we were to build a freestanding bookstore?this would provide for additional square footage, so complete services to support the life of the University community could be offered," she said. While the plan for a Revlon Center without The Book Store would keep the cost of constructing it under $45 million, McCoullum said that nothing specific has been discussed yet about how the building of a freestanding Book Store would be financed. Vice President for Facilities Management Arthur Gravina said, though, that there needs to be "fiscal restraint" since the construction of both the Revlon Center and The Book Store would exceed the $45 million price tag that Lazerson imposed on the building. In October, Lazerson called for a review of the Center's plans because the construction and operating costs for the center were too high. The initial price tag for the center was $65 million. "If you do elect to build a $45 million Revlon Center, you have to realize that The Book Store isn't free," Gravina said.