Hill rooms to get new furniture

At 13 feet by 9 feet, Hill House dorm rooms are not exactly roomy. And the fact that each room's two beds can't be bunked makes for even more cramped quarters. But with the new furniture that was installed in her room last month -- including a bed that can be stacked -- College freshman Jaime Hojdila has a bit more room to stretch out her legs. Hojdila and five other Hill residents are currently sampling new furniture that will replace the decades-old beds, desks and shelves in all Hill dorm rooms over the next two years. Redecorating Hill's approximately 300 rooms and replacing the building's hot water system will be the first step in a 10-year plan to renovate all of the University's residences, according to Associate Vice President for Campus Services Larry Moneta. Moneta said his goal is to try to replace all of Hill's furniture -- which is more 30 years old -- by the end of the summer. Realistically, however, the project may take longer, he said, but "no more than two years." The total cost of the furniture replacement is estimated at $300,000 to $400,000. Funding will come from the University's reserve fund for such projects. A 3 percent increase in room rates will supplement the funding. Three different furniture companies have contributed the nearly identical trial furniture that was installed in three Hill rooms last month. Officials will select one company this spring to furnish the entire house. In the meantime, the residents of rooms 262, 341 and 466 have been opening their doors to other Hill residents to give them a preview of the new design. The house staff will collect evaluations from residents during the next couple of months. The six students who volunteered their rooms as samples are giving the decor an all-around thumbs-up. "It reminds me of a furniture store," Hojdila said. "Everything is new and smells like wood." Hojdila added that she and her roommate bunked their beds, which freed up one side of the room. In her old bed, she felt like she was "sleeping on an army cot." Engineering freshman Richard Dela Rosa said a new desk with a sliding keyboard compartment allows him and his roommate to sit at their desks without their chairs touching. "We actually have to hand each other the phone this time," Dela Rosa said. Dela Rosa and his roommate also bunked their new beds, which, he said, takes getting used to. "Whenever I wake up to my alarm, I pop my head against the ceiling," he said. College freshman Tomoko Machida said she now has more storage space because the new beds in her room have drawers. But Machida and her roommate did not bunk their beds. As a result, with the wide new beds claiming two sides of the room, there is actually less space than before, she said. "My roommate and I keep colliding into each other," Machida said, adding that their two chairs also collide when they both sit at their desks. Despite the cramped quarters, Machida said she recommends the new decor, adding that "it makes the room look a lot warmer." Hill Assistant Dean Tracy Feld said she is impressed with the amount of student input involved in this project. Moneta said his office will choose a furniture supplier on the basis of price, quality and student preference. "I love the way we did this," he said. "We're really involving students in the selection process." The other renovation to Hill this summer will be the replacement of the building's current hot water system, which Moneta called "unpredictable and unreliable," with a more modern system. According to Al Zuino, associate director of operations in residential maintenance, the existing water boiler has sat in Hill's basement since the facility was first built 38 years ago. The new system will heat water instantaneously rather than storing water and heating it on demand, as the current system does. In addition to the interior renovations at Hill, upcoming projects in the 10-year renovation plan include a fitness center to be installed in High Rise South's rooftop lounge by this fall, as well as several plumbing and alarm system upgrades. Moneta said his office will try to make a detailed projection of the full 10-year plan available before the end of the semester.