Making progress

The three 25-story high rises on Penn's campus have long been eyesores, but their internal problems have often made their superficial problems look, well, superficial. But now, University officials have pledged $106 million to fix the 30-year-old buildings, and this time, it'll be much more than a facelift.

The buildings, which house 43 percent of Penn's undergraduates who live on campus, have rarely received attention and investment from the University, turning them into three of the most glaring -- and largest -- eyesores in University City. But in late 1990s, Penn officials unveiled a massive, $300 million plan to revamp Superblock and the high rises. Much to the disappointment of the student body, that plan was scaled down, and Hamilton, Harrison and Harnwell college houses received a $75 million facelift instead.

All windows were replaced, students were given new furniture and concrete chunks no longer fell off the buildings. But the job was far from complete.

While the high rises undoubtedly looked better on the outside, the problems that really plagued the three buildings -- floods, deteriorating plumbing and leaks -- were left unfixed as administrators cited a lack of funds. Now, finally, conditions will improve.

With the new planned improvements, Penn may be able to put an end to the constant problems which make high-rise living much less enjoyable than it could be. The University has worked hard to improve Penn's campus in the last decade, and fixing the high rises is an important part of providing a better living environment for students.

And with the developments of the postal lands just around the corner, Penn needs to make its dorms as attractive as possible, as they will likely try to lure students back to campus if additional dorms are constructed.

The external overhaul was a start. Now, Penn will finally finish the job.

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