The new and updated version of the Westlawn dining hall opened to students earlier this week, which was a result of more than two years of work.

The first steps to renovation began way back on March 26, 2022, when volunteers started clearing the upper floors of West Lawn. It wasn’t until Aug. 7, 2023 that contractors first prepared the land for construction. 

This preparation included closing the areas around the physical building as well, as part of the project would involve some expansion. This meant that a section of the sidewalk was closed on campus, as well as along College Ave. For most residential students, this didn’t have much of an effect on their daily travel, but for those in other campus housing options, it very much did. 

Residents of Kenwood and Howell House were forced to reroute themselves in their journey to campus, as the sidewalk that they would typically take was now closed. Nate Reeser, junior engineering and physics major, said  “The construction was slightly inconvenient because of the inability to access the sidewalk that’s now there, because before the reopening I would have to go around or cut across the grass in order to get to most of my classes, which is much more direct through that entrance.”

However, despite the hardship, Reeser said that he thinks in the end it was not too great a price to pay for the new building. “With the nursing part it’s definitely worth the wait I’m sure. It’s nice now that it’s there, it’s closer. It was just harder because I had to bike a little bit more to go around the construction.”

Another tangible facet of campus that was affected by construction was the bench near the Adelphian Fountain, which has been knocked off of its foundations. This change has not gone unnoticed, with community members expressing concern that it may have been the target of vandalism. In this case though, it was actually unintentionally moved while contractors were seeding the lawn.

Despite these concerns, Brian Mast, director of facilities, is confident that the damage is not anything to be worried about. “The damage to the bench was minimal and can be repaired,” Mast said, “I have been in contact with DJ Construction, and we are putting a plan together to reset it.”

Out of all the challenges that arose as a result of the construction process, the students most affected by work were the students living in Kulp Hall. Westlawn is directly connected to Kulp, and it was physically affected at least once during the process. 

Mast said “There was one incident when a significant amount of dust was created that infiltrated the Kulp basement. After that, we asked DJ to construct dust barriers and fill any holes between the construction site and Kulp to mitigate the dust issue.”

In an additional effort to be accommodating, Goshen College also “requested that contractors wait to make major noise until 8 a.m. when possible” Mast said, “despite the fact that most contractors begin work at 6:00 am.” 

“As for residents of Kulp, the construction fence was a significant part of keeping students safe during construction. We also made sure that the Kulp basement doors that accessed the new community room were secured,” said Mast.