As part of the The Ones campaign, which raised over $265 million and surpassed its goal, Drake University is planning two renovations to create student centers. The first is the Johansen Student Center. The other project is a planned upgrade to the Olmsted Center.
Unlike the Johansen Student Center, which will be used mainly as a hub for student organizations to meet and collaborate in the former Morehouse Residence Hall, the goal of the Olmsted renovation is to provide a space for students to hang out and improve the shopping experience.
“The prospect of targeted renovations to the Olmsted Center will enhance this facility’s long tradition of being a place to gather, meet, relax, celebrate and recharge,” John Smith, Drake’s vice president for university advancement, said in an email interview.
The renovated south portion of Olmsted, by Starbucks, will focus on creating study spaces and cultivating an environment for students to hang out. Right now, some students prefer not to study and hang out in Olmsted due to the crowdedness and lack of comfortable seating options.
“Most of the comfortable seats are always taken, and the ones that are not taken hurt your ass,” said first-year student Camren Sims.
Venessa Macro, chief administrative officer of Drake, believes the renovations solve this problem.
Macro says the goal for this area is “more soft seating, kind of a living room atmosphere for students along [southern Olmsted] giving them just another opportunity to hang out and collaborate.”
Last year, Drake set up test furniture in Meredith Hall and requested feedback from students. Though the goal of the feedback on the furniture in Meredith last year was to inform furniture selection for the Johansen Student Center, that feedback will also be used in the upcoming Olmsted renovation, Macro said.
Another problem the renovation plans to solve is the lack of shopping options on campus. Many students, especially those who do not have a car like junior Sterling Angeroth, feel as if this lack is inconvenient.
“I feel like my dining dollars go to waste because I can only spend them at the C-Store and Starbucks, which is very limited in the items sold,” Angeroth said.
Macro said renovations in the north portion of Olmsted will improve the experience and increase the amount of shopping options available to students on campus. This experience will differ from the current C-Store experience, Macro said.
She also said that the plan is to have “some of the technology that you see in airports, where you just swipe your cards, you go in, you get the food that you want and then you come out without having to be rung up or anything.”
Such technologies have been a fan favorite in airports and other places they’ve been implemented due to ease, accuracy and shorter lines.
Macro hopes this technology and the other renovations will improve the Olmsted experience.
Macro said she wants students to know there will be an opportunity for further student feedback.
The estimated budget for the project is $3.3 million and it is set to be completed next summer. There are no plans for renovations on the outside of the building.
