Student center's opening delayed

Perelman Quad will now open in late July due to construction problems. The completion of the $87 million Perelman Quadrangle project will be delayed until late July because of problems obtaining construction materials, according to University officials. Penn administrators originally said the entire project -- which encompasses Logan, College, Williams and Houston halls, and Irvine Auditorium -- would be fully operational before the Class of 2000 graduates in May. But the University is waiting for the arrival from Italy of marble for the floors in Houston Hall and will not finish the building until the end of July, according to Tom Hauber, who will manage Perelman Quadrangle upon its completion. "The delay was in the approval of the [marble] samples that were sent to us," Hauber added. Work on Irvine, Logan and Williams has already been completed. Houston Hall and Wynn Common, the landscaped corridor linking Perelman Quad's buildings, are the two parts of the project remaining. Wynn Common should be open by May 15, Hauber said. While completion dates for Perelman Quad have been pushed back several times already, officials said this deadline will have to be met because CUPID will be held in Houston Hall this September. "We have actually scheduled CUPID into Houston Hall? with the feeling that it would be nice to have freshmen come into their student union as their first [Penn] experience," Executive Director of University Life Facilities John Smolen said. Different parts of the Perelman project have been finishing up over the past year. A fully renovated Irvine was unveiled to the public last September and the Silfen Study Center and Cafe in Williams Hall also debuted in the fall. Logan Hall and College Hall both underwent extensive renovations, which finished about two years ago. Two large grand staircases will lead from Logan Hall into Wynn Common, which will provide space for about 1,250 students and will also have a fully functional stage at the opposite end, Hauber said. Once complete, Houston Hall will house a dining area, card and copy shop, game room, offices, classrooms and space for undergraduate and graduate student clubs. Many of the rooms in Houston Hall will be open for named donations. Approximately 20 spaces within Perelman Quad will bear donors names. Hauber said donations ranged from $50,000 to $150,000. The dining area, which will seat about 450 and is known as the "Houston Market," will be administered by Bon Appetit, the corporation that manages University dining halls. Located on the lowest level of Houston Hall, it will be divided into several counters with various food options, including a grill area, pizza and pasta, international cuisine and pre-packaged foods, Hauber said. Also located on the bottom floor will be a news, copy, card and gift shop. Smolen said the University is working with Arnold Bank, who runs stores in the Gallery at Market East and the Shoppes at Liberty Place, to operate the shop and determine what products it will carry. Rounding up the basement offerings will be a game room and movie screen, officials said. The game room will be double the size it was before Houston Hall's renovations and will be run by American Vending of Marlton, N.J. "They run very high-tech, Dave and Buster type areas," Smolen said. "It's not the old kind of game room -- it's really pretty sophisticated." Houston Hall's first floor will feature a staffed reception desk, lounge space and an area tentatively called the "Bistro." "It'll be the morning place to be if you want coffee, you want donuts, you want croissants and so on," Hauber said of the space, which will offer table service later in the day.

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