Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Healy Pub Progress Heats Up

Healy Pub proponents are set to meet with Vice President of Student Affairs Todd Olson July 22 to present new financial projections and detailed designs in an attempt to wrangle university support for the project.

Final word on the probability of the tap’s return to the Hilltop will come in the following weeks as the student and alumni backed initiative led by Chris Pigott (COL’ 12) makes a finalized pitch to the administration.

Pub supporters face an uphill battle in order to gain approval for the student space, as Olson made his feelings clear in late April.

“It is very unlikely that the university would support moving forward with this proposal,” he said in an email at the time to The Hoya. “As I’ve told the student leaders involved, the university has a well-developed plan to create a new Student Center in the lower level of New South — that is our priority, and that space will certainly include student gathering space.”

Recent releases from the proposal’s leaders regarding the financial costs and details of the pub project have refocused on the feasibility of their envisioned space.

“From a financial standpoint it seems as though with the $3.2 million dollars that it can be done,” Georgetown Student Association’s Finance and Appropriations Chair Colton Malkerson (COL ’13) said, referring to some of the money allocated from the 3.4 million dollar fund by recommendations of the Student Activities Fund Endowment Committee.

Malkerson cited numbers from Regina Bleck, an employee of the university architect’s office who stated that the projected costs of installing the space would come out between $1,276,800 and $1,344,000. The proposal’s design currently features private rooms that can be reserved for private dining, studying, or meeting by members of the campus community as well as a raised platform for performances and a student lounge.

In digging up research on the previous location of the Healy Pub, proposal members discovered that the original space was located in the basement of McGuire Hall. According to Pigott, the roughly 3,200 square feet space currently stands unoccupied after housing Human Resources.  However, the university website still lists Maguire’s ground floor as the location for the office of Training and Development.

Citing the new discovery of cheaper projected costs and possibly unoccupied office space for the proposal, Pigott spoke with muted optimism about the project’s feasibility.

“We think we are able to answer the university’s questions with a well thought out proposal. We have a shot,” he said. “I think we deserve to argue the merits of this.”

Malkerson also spoke to the progress of the other proposals originally proposed to receive funding from the $3.4 million endowment who have been working in order to meet GUSA’s self-imposed end of the fall semester deadline for student referendums.

Contributions to the endowment, which received a portion of student activities fees for several year, ended with the passage of SAFE reform last year.  After a series of proposals were put forward by community members, a student committee selected the Healy Pub and three other projects as possible uses for the funds that remained in the endowment.

The Georgetown Energy Proposal, which received $170,000 in the SAFE Committee’s recommendations, aims to install solar panels on 43 town houses during the summer of 2012. The proposal, backed by the Georgetown Energy student group, has entered into conversations with Karen Frank, the vice president for facilities and student housing. The university and Georgetown Energy group is currently exploring project costs as well as structural, contractual and legal agreements.

The Social Innovation and Public Service Fund and New South Student Center Proposals were progressing with conversations from university officials and various outside advisers as well according to Malkerson. Contingency plans by the Fin/App suggest the money allocated to Healy Space will go to these various proposals if the Healy Space proposal is not approved by the administration.

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