The Spire

Matt Nickerson ‘24

Chief Features Editor

It is a new school year, and with that comes quite a new change to the Holy Cross campus: two townhouses on the corner of City View and College Street, each with eight 8-person apartments. Each apartment has three floors, with the top two floors containing two bedrooms and a bathroom, and the bottom floor containing a living room, kitchen, washer and dryer, and a ½ bath. These townhouses are centrally located, just a short walk away from prominent buildings like the Hogan Campus Center and the Joanne Chouinard-Luth Recreation and Wellness Center (more commonly referred to as “the Jo”). The townhouses right at the top of Mount St. James also offer a stunning view overlooking the city of Worcester. “My roommates and I love the space. It is super modern on the inside with two great porches,” says senior Damon Kruppa, who proudly talks of the porch setup shared with the residents of the neighboring apartment. Being senior-only residential spaces, only members of the class of 2024 — and only a select few at that — have had the opportunity to enjoy this new form of accommodation. But those lucky enough to get a good number in the lottery speak glowingly of their living arrangements during these first few weeks. “[It’s a] friendly environment,” says townhouse resident Ralph Carbone. “Good location…heckuva experience.” 

Holy Cross announced plans for the townhouses in late March of 2022. At the time, the news bulletin announced that they could be fully built “as early as” the fall of 2023, but at the time, that was nothing like a promise — more of a potential window. And yet, they were right! A year on, the 20,000 feet complex (as stated by the Worcester Business Journal) stands fully constructed and ready to be in use by its occupants. After over a year of construction, the finally-complete townhouses come with a number of sweeping changes. Holy Cross no longer leases out rooms in the Edge Apartments down the highway for students to use. Students may still live there if they wish, but the college no longer provides a shuttle service or security presence as they have for several years — those who live there have to determine their own lease. As seniors moved in the last week of August, those who are living in the townhouses were supplied with brand-new student ID cards in order to access these latest additions to the campus.   

Brendan Taylor, a senior science major living in Williams Hall, which was previously allotted to senior use only but is now open to juniors as well, shares his thoughts on the townhouses, being keenly aware of the construction process throughout his entire junior year. “I wouldn’t want to live with seven other people,” he says, referring to the highly competitive lottery that students went through to attempt to earn a townhouse apartment this past spring. With the highest number of people to live with lower years being a max of six people, the idea of living with eight is truly overwhelming to think about for some students. “[But] I do think it’s great that they’ve made Williams for juniors and seniors though, since the townhouses are now for seniors only.”  

With that emphasis on the class of 2024, it is worth noting that they are the ones who spent the first semester of their freshman year online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As freshman orientation events commenced over the last few weeks of August and many seniors volunteered to help out, the fact that they didn’t have any such activities wasn’t too far from their minds. Because of that, current seniors are looking to enjoy their final year on the Hill to the fullest, especially after many are coming back from a semester or year abroad. The completion of the townhouses and the gift of letting the class of 2024 use them first marks a meaningful gesture by the school and its administration. After a few semesters of forced distance from peers, whether online or masked, it is refreshing to have some seniors interacting together in such a close-knit environment. Townhouse resident Adelaide Valley sums it up succinctly: “Living in the townhouses has brought a new life to what is meant to be on campus; it has elevated my Holy Cross experience.” We can only hope that the townhouses serve the current residents throughout the rest of the academic year and provide an experience as such for many seniors in years to come.