Scripps College is making headway on the initial phase of its Centennial Plaza Project, which is set to conclude during the 2026-2027 academic year. While students and faculty are excited by the project’s plans to expand Scripps’ dance program, some community members question whether this focus is the best use of the college’s resources amid lingering housing shortages.
The Scripps Facilities Department informed the student body on Thursday, April 16, that the 240 House, a residential space previously intended to be demolished, will be relocated to Foothill Boulevard to make room for the new facilities. With potential housing shortages next spring, students have expressed concern that using funds for housing should be prioritized over the Centennial Plaza Project’s new dance facility.
“To me, it’s exciting to see Scripps invest in itself, especially for dancers at the Richardson dance studio,” Leah Gorence SC ’28 said. “But I personally would love to see more of that money go into financial aid or housing.”
The Centennial Plaza Project was introduced to the student body in October 2024. Located west of Scripps’ campus walls, the finished project will feature the new Carolyn Lake Dance Center and a second building designated as a “collaborative space,” which will house 30 faculty offices, 12 classrooms and five lab spaces.
The project will expand opportunities for dancers in an improved facility, as the current Richardson Dance Studio in the Vita Nova courtyard faces issues with limited dressing room space, as well as the HVAC and plumbing systems — according to Scripps Dance Professor and Department Chair Kevin Williamson.
“Although we love [the Richardson studio], and we’re grateful because it has a lot of history, we certainly can use some updating, especially when it comes to technology,” Williamson said.
As the Scripps dance program continues to expand, shows have grown to feature around 100 student performers and multiple choreographers.
Williamson noted that the new Carolyn Lake Dance Center will provide much-needed rehearsal and performance space.
“We’ll be able to present dance in our own building and not always be reliant on Pomona or Garrison,” Williamson said. “[This] means we can also facilitate interdisciplinary projects across the consortium and get more students involved with producing performance-like events.”
Amanda Forte SC ’29, a dance and politics double major, stated that she has to walk from Scripps to the Pendleton Studio at the Southern end of Pomona College for class due to the current limited course offering. She hopes Scripps’ new dance studio will encourage more students to try dance by providing a high-quality studio space in a more central location.
“Having more space and availability is an incentive to bring more dancers into the program, which is great,” Forte said. “I think also, the walking distance would be way easier, [The Carolyn Center will be] right there and easy to access.”
The dance center will occupy Claremont Graduate University’s old art building lot which Scripps purchased in March, 2024, located on the intersection of East 10th Street and Columbia Avenue. Ainsley Oleson SC ’29 noted Scripps’ limited opportunities for expansion near campus due to lack of available spaces to develop, noting the impact the project may have on future housing availability.
“I’m concerned about where future housing expansion could realistically take place, given that this space is already being used,” Oleson wrote in an email to TSL.
She specifically pointed to the impacts the changes could have on students with accommodations who may require single-room which are harder to obtain.
Gorence said she is also concerned about finding housing after going abroad for the fall 2026 semester.
“I’m going abroad in the fall, and everyone going abroad with me is sharing something of housing anxiety,” Gorence said. “So I think it was upsetting to hear that they tore down housing without building a replacement first.”
Though Scripps said in its email that the college worked hard to preserve the 240 House, the email did not outline when, or if, it will be available as a residential space in the future.
Scripps did not provide a comment by time of publication.
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