Courtesy of Sean Elliot
It’s been more than two years since the college first broke ground on the massive Crozier-Plex Connector project. The project was mostly completed this summer, and students can now walk between the College Center at Crozier Williams and Harris Refectory unobstructed by massive fences and ominous Caterpillar construction cranes. Yet, nearly 26 months after the first shovel struck ground, it’s still not done. Some things were added, others were taken away, and the question remains: Was it worth it?
In 2024, the college contracted Colliers project management, Klopfer Martin Design Group, and civil engineers Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB) to begin yet another campus construction project that year. It was intended to help reduce vehicular traffic throughout campus and improve accessibility between the student center and Harris.
As stated by Associate Vice President of Facilities Management and Campus Planning Justin Wolfradt in a statement on the college website, “These two projects will help make the center and north end of the campus more accessible and create the same pedestrian-focused experience we have on the south end of the campus around Tempel Green.”
The Cro-Plex Connector was just one of at least seven major campus-wide construction projects happening between the summer of 2024 and the fall of 2026. The most significant projects included the interior renovations of Crozier Williams and Harris Refectory, as well as switchgear replacement, Silfen Track and Field resurfacing, grandstand construction at the Athletic Center, and minor capital improvements.
In the most recent campus planning newsletter, Wolfradt said “Weather permitting, the remaining scope of work is expected to be completed in early May.” That was in the spring, yet construction workers have still been seen laying sod and planting shrubs around the walkway in recent weeks. Even the pathway entrance from Gravel Lot was recently still under construction.
Here’s a look at what’s been accomplished so far, what hasn’t, and what the future of the campus might look like.
Potential Pros
According to the Connecticut College website, the new design has already started helping improve the campus. When the road dividing Cro and The Plex was removed, the administration claimed that the grass implants brought a 40-50% reduction in impermeable surfaces. Environmentalists may be pleased to know that the new area will also contain bioswales—a shallow channel used to capture stormwater runoff—and rain gardens, which will devise 5-8% of the remaining hard surfaces. Additionally, the college proposed to plant an additional 20-30 trees more than were previously there.
Taking a look at what’s already been done, campus does feel more walkable. Although there was a sidewalk there before the renovation, the removal of the Cro Boulevard road created an accessible pathway that cuts right through the heart of campus. Now, students don’t have to worry about oncoming traffic or parked cars in front of sidewalks. The added green areas in front of Harris provide an additional place for students to relax, eat, or play, and the string lights adorning the walkway help bring the ambiance together.
Potential Cons
The question is: “Are students actually using the space?” While projections and statistics are useful, students will be looking for the tangible benefits of the project. The green was meant to add new amenities, like seating and recreation space. But so far, I haven’t seen a single student using the area. The hillside greenery isn’t exactly useful for recreation, and the self-proclaimed “amphitheater” seems more like a few slaps of concrete stuck in the middle of the field. With almost no seating options, students will be forced to sit on the singular bench in front of the dining hall or find a rare flat piece of earth on the grass.
Another concern lies in the ergonomics of the pathway. The walkway on Cro-Boulevard is straight—simple enough. But the curves and jarring turns adorning the Cro-Plex Connector is much less navigable. The paths are designed to create easy access between the central pathway and the front door of Harris. But if entering from the West side of campus closest to Sprout Garden, one must walk all the way to the right in order to take a sharp left turn onto the pathway leading to the dining hall doors. Similarly, if a student is trying to enter through the outside entrance of Morrison House, they have to walk left down the pathway towards Harris before taking a 90 degree right turn, another left turn, and finally a right turn up the stairs and into the door. Even trying to navigate to Harris coming from the pathway on the East side of Katherine Blunt House, adjacent to the Hillel House, is cumbersome. Students must choose whether to take an oddly shaped “S” curve or a jagged u-turn around the tree island in the center of the walkway. More often than not, I’ve chosen to walk right through the middle.
Was it worth it?
The answer isn’t quite straightforward. For some, the pathway may provide an accessible and good looking addition to campus. For others, it may be an ergonomic nightmare that wasn’t worth the investment. The college has not publicly disclosed how much they spent on the entire project, but we do know that similar projects, like the Cro renovation, cost under $25 million. While I won’t speculate on its necessity, I will offer one perspective: With so many other issues around campus, was a new green space really necessary? In the past year alone, the administration has banned off-campus living, merged coffee shops, considered shuttering student organizations, and torn down maker spaces. It’s easy to speculate on the financial situation of the college without having all the facts, but it isn’t hard to see where money is being taken away. As a senior who has observed the state of the student experience across the past four years, I’m not convinced that this project makes up for what else has been taken away.
