After three years of construction, the newly renovated Quad opened all of its gates to Penn’s Class of 2030.
In August, the Quad welcomed nearly 1,300 first-year students into its three dormitories — Riepe College House, Ware College House, and Fisher Hassenfeld College House. With updated infrastructure and new community spaces, current residents anticipate that these renovations could transform their living experience.
“We wanted to make sure that the student living space was comfortable and refreshed,” Director of Residential Services Pat Killilee said in an interview.
He specified that infrastructural improvements included replacing HVAC cooling systems, installing new or refinished flooring, ceilings, and furniture, and renovating bathrooms — which are now gender-neutral and equipped with lockable shower rooms for student privacy.
According to Killilee, there was a “complete renovation of all the bathrooms,” giving students much “more privacy and security” than there was before.
He added that this plan has been in the works for “eight plus years,” because the Quad “was coming up on a 20-year cycle of renovation.”
“There were just things that had changed since the last renovation about how students use space,” Killilee said, adding that the team looked into community spaces — including floor lounges and study rooms.
The Quad renovation project began in 2023. Riepe was the first to undergo the changes, followed by Ware and then Fisher Hassenfeld. It took roughly one year to complete renovations on each college house.
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Throughout the process, Residential Services sought student input through town halls and regular surveys on implementable changes. The Residential Services Advisory Board also provided recurrent feedback during the renovation project.
As students move back into the Quad, “all the feedback we’ve gotten has really actually been positive,” Killilee added.
When asked about these changes, students generally found them to be improvements to their quality of life. College first-year Chloe Cheuk cited the natural light in Fisher Hassenfeld as among her favorite elements of the dorm.
“It creates a nice ambiance in the room without having to turn on any artificial lights,” she said.
College first-year Yi An, who also lives in Fisher Hassenfeld, appreciates the cleanliness of shared facilities like shower stalls and water fountains. When visiting her friends in Riepe and Ware, she observed similar renewals, with everything looking “new and tidy.”
Above all, most students consider the shared social experience their favorite aspect of Quad life.
“People are very open to talking because they’re all freshmen, and there’s always stuff going on,” Cheuk explained.
Whether it be a late-night study session or dorm room karaoke, multiple residents characterized the Quad’s social activities as taking place at all hours of the day.
This marks a significant change from 2024, when residents told the DP that the renovations to Ware — which divided the upper and lower Quad — disrupted their social and residential experience. Last year, residents stated that the Fisher Hassenfeld renovations had been different, highlighting a lack of disruptions and construction noise.
Despite the improved amenities, some student concerns linger amid the completed renovation. Due to the renovated bathroom model, the number of available stalls has decreased — leading to longer wait times for showers during peak hours. High usage has also contributed to occasional shortages of paper towels, soap, and hot water, according to some residents.
An expressed that the location of trash rooms is inconvenient, with many residents “choosing to leave their trash in the hallways or in an overflowing bathroom trash can.”
Residential Services and Facilities and Real Estate Services have installed preventative maintenance procedures to renew existing facilities in the Quad in an effort to address these issues. Such measures include annual replacements of fan coil units and water tanks, as well as options for students to file work orders for problems and malfunctions that require immediate attention.
“Year over year, a lot of students are cycling through the Quad, so things will fail just because of the amount of use things get,” Killilee said. “But, that’s what our work order system is for.”
