Hood College plans to add new parking spaces

By Amanda Smith//

In an adjustment to the master, plan Hood College is set to add 70 new parking spaces on campus this summer.

The college plans to take down Carson Cottage and Strawn Cottage, which were built in 1918 and 1923, to make space for new parking spots on the east side of campus.

“The chapel parking area down to Brodbeck Drive will become a larger paved parking lot,” said Robert Klinedinst, the vice president for finance and treasurer at Hood College.

According to Klinedinst, utility work needs to be completed before the parking construction can take place. The basements of each cottage will need to be filled after they are taken down and a fiber optic line that runs from Brodbeck down to the Alumnae House will require relocation.

“We have to balance all of this work that needs to be done with the academic calendar,” Klinedinst said. The time frame for when this project is completed depends on the design and what the city permits, Klinedinst said.

“What we’re hoping to do is take down Strawn and Carson this summer and expand the gravel lot,” Klinedinst said. “We’re not sure that we’ll be able to do everything including paving and curbing, but we’re hoping to at least expand that gravel lot and increase the number of parking spaces.”

With the removal of Strawn and Carson cottages and the subsequent expansion of the gravel lot, there will be 70 new parking spaces added to the campus.

Klinedinst anticipates that the gravel lot will be fully expanded this summer, but the final paving may not be completed until the summer of 2024.

This news has been well received by many students who have previously expressed their concerns over how difficult it is to find parking on campus.

“During my time at Hood, I have rarely been able to park on campus and usually have to park elsewhere and walk across a busy street to get to class, which is very inconvenient considering I have a parking permit,” said Ava Kelley, a junior at Hood College. “It’s great to hear that our needs will soon be acknowledged with the construction of a new parking lot.”

Alongside the addition of new parking spaces, Klinedinst says that the new master plan will consist of a campus landscape action plan, a potential new visitor center building, something in place of Gambrill Gymnasium, and improvements made to Hodson Science and Technology Center. Klinedinst also said the college is starting to gather data for a new athletics master plan.