Houston Hall closings to affect U. purse

The Office of Student Life earns money from usage fees and retail in the building. When Houston Hall closes its doors May 29 for extensive renovations, the loss of Houston Hall Cards and Gifts may pose problems for people other than students who need a place to buy Father's Day cards. The store -- owned by the University and operated by the Office of Student Life, Activities and Facilities -- provides revenues that fund the operational costs of Houston Hall, such as staff salaries and building overhead. The student activities and programs run by the office are funded by separate money from the University. "We've run this building without student tuition," said Thomas Hauber, associate director of the Office of Student Life. It was unclear exactly how much the office would stand to lose from Houston Hall's closing for renovations. The renovations, scheduled to be completed within two years, are part of the $69 million Perelman Quadrangle project, which is designed to create a student center linking Houston Hall with several surrounding buildings. When the facility closes, the Office of Student Life will permanently lose the percentage of revenues it receives from the retailers currently located in the building's basement. Additionally, the office will temporarily lose facility-usage fees for the building's activity halls. And although room usage fees will again become a source of revenue when the Perelman Quad is completed, the renovated Houston Hall is projected to contain almost no retail space other than for food. The office will continue to get some revenue from food retailers in the renovated facility. As a result of the renovations, "the funding for this building has to be addressed in a different manner than it is now," Hauber said. According to Fran Walker, director of Student Life Activities and Facilities, the operations side of the building have "been self-supporting because it runs a retail operation." With the new Perelman Quad, however, the role of the office will change, she added. "Once the retail operation is gone, someone needs to decide how to fund" operations costs, Walker said. It was unclear last night where such funding would come from. Houston Hall Cards and Gifts recently began to advertise its impending closure at the end of May with a going-out-of-business sale. Hauber said the store has a lot of stock to get rid of before it closes. "We're getting a jump," he added. "We wanted to get the holidays [in the sale]." Other retailers are also preparing to close. Mahmoud Toroghr, owner of Rose's Florist, said he was involved in discussions with the University about a possible relocation elsewhere on campus. Penn has also expressed interest in retaining Auntie Anne's pretzels as part of its retail mix. But many other stores, including CDs to Go, Pizza Pitt, University Photo and Electronics and Hair House have said that Penn has not given them any assistance in finding new locations, making it likely that they will leave campus.