Approximately 370 Boston University students walked through a chic hotel lobby and past a concierge’s desk on their way to class Tuesday, as the School of Hospitality settled into a swank new building at 928 Commonwealth Ave.
SHA was previously housed in the Fuller Building at 808 Commonwealth Ave., which most students know for its expanse ground-floor gallery and floor-to-ceiling windows. The former Cadillac dealership now houses an odd assortment of offices and classrooms for schools like the Metropolitan College and College of Fine Arts.
BU has been fundraising for the $6.25 million building for several years, but construction began in March, according to Assistant to the Dean Lynda Hebach.
“The new building has three floors and doubles our space,” Hebach said. “We have more room to teach and more room for students to work together. I just think the whole environment is conducive to learning.”
The building includes classrooms, student lounges, a library, a computer lab, an auditorium, alumni offices, break-out lounges, a faculty conference room and a board room for meetings and seminars.
“It was [Dean James Stamas’s] vision for the first floor to look like a hotel lobby,” Hebach said. “The students have been overwhelmed at how beautiful it is. They now have college space they can be very proud of.”
Professor Nicholas Washienko said the new facility is beneficial to students’ education.
“I just think that it’s great to have a building that is of the same quality as the students,” he said.
Stamas said he is grateful to the university for buying the building for SHA and for the many companies and contributors who made the renovation possible.
“Where we were before was such a mixed-use space, but now I’ve got to say we have an enhanced feeling of a sense of community,” he said. “It is a real pleasure to walk those halls and see the happy faces.”
Students said they were impressed by the new facility, especially when compared to the scattered classrooms in the Fuller Building,
“The old building was just really old, but this is really modern with chic chairs and bright colors,” SHA senior Chris Howard said. “Hospitality has a lot to do with using bright colors.”
Though excited about the new digs, students said they were not looking forward to the longer walk from east campus, where some SHA students take classes in the School of Management.
With less than 400 students, SHA is much smaller than many schools, such as the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Management, which line Commonwealth Avenue.
“Most students don’t even know what SHA stands for,” SHA sophomore Paul Tillman said, “so I think having our own building will bring us more awareness and credit on campus.”
SHA sophomore Amelia Lyon went a step further and said the building is representative of the expanding industry of hospitality administration.
“I feel like it’s proof that [SHA] is growing, and we have every reason to believe it’s only going to get bigger,” she said. “The university is acknowledging the fact that the careers we’re seeking are part of a rapidly growing industry and not just a fad.”
The building’s dedication ceremony will take place Sept. 27 at 3:30 p.m.