On Saturday, Oct. 10, North Central College students, staff, alumni and the community celebrated the addition of a new student commons to come at the southwest corner of Chicago Avenue and Brainard Street.
“We are breaking ground on a critical new facility for our students, which is phase one of our student commons project. And the phase one is the dining center, and then phase two will be the student activity center,” said North Central College President Abiódún Gòkè-Paríolá.
Phase one brings updated dining facility
While the old Kaufman Dining Hall, located across Chicago Avenue, seats about 300 at one time, the new 30,000-square-foot dining space will hold up to 500 students.
“The current dining facility is over 100 years old. It’s reached the end of its lifespan,” said Gòkè-Paríolá. “We’ve grown with a lot more students, and so this will be able to accommodate them. It will be more in line with how students want to experience their dining and how they want to relate to their fellow students in the dining center.”
“I’m very excited to see that this space is very large and spacious,” said sophomore Gwennie Gilbert, president of the Student Government Association at North Central. “I think it’ll cut down on wait time for food, and it’ll just give students more room to breathe.”
Phase two adds new student activities center
Set to be complete in November 2027, the dining hall is just one half of the 60,000-square-foot student commons.
The connected student activity center, also planned to be 30,000 square feet, will include conference rooms, a new campus store, large and small seating arrangements, a kitchenette and a multipurpose room that will accommodate up to 350 people for campus and community events.
Construction on the activities center will begin after the dining hall is completed and the college has raised the $16 million needed to finish the project.
Rendering of the new 60,000-square-foot student commons, to be constructed in two phases. Image courtesy: North Central College.
Prioritizing needs of students
“I think I can speak for myself and many students when I say that we’re excited and very curious about all the work going on with the new student dining hall and student commons,” Gilbert said. “It seems like a great opportunity for students to make new connections, make new memories, and we’re excited to see what the changes bring.”
Gòkè-Paríolá voiced his appreciation for the support of alumni and community members that made the project possible.
“We have no purpose for existing except for our students, and if we can’t stand up and make investments that will directly impact our students, we have no reason to be in business,” Gòkè-Paríolá said. “And that the community has rallied around that, and we are going to be able to do something for our students, it makes me exceptionally happy.”
Featured image courtesy: North Central College
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