Construction of East End Neighborhood concluded with the beginning of the Fall 2026 semester. East End Neighborhood features new housing, the moving of Tarpotle, which used to reside in the Cornell Social Sciences building, and the movement of the Security Office, which used to reside near the Rollins College Bookstore (which is now the Spirit Store).
I went to East End Neighborhood to find out what students thought about the new housing and interviewed both Tyrelle Davenport (’29) and Aden Campbell (’29), who share a dorm room in North Side—Davenport lives in a single, while Campbell lives in a double with a third roommate. Both students made interesting comments about the new dorms in comparison to their old dorms. Davenport said, “Overall, the quality of the living spaces is substantially higher, everything is cleaner, more polished, up to date.” Campbell added on to this, stating, “It has a good amount of space.” However, both students had a similar critique, in that the dorms feel “like less of a home, and more like a hotel.”
I was able to tour Davenport’s single dorm room, and it was spacious and freshly decorated. Davenport shared sentiments that he was thrilled about his dorm room, though he told me his view overlooking the newly constructed tennis courts was not the most exciting. Despite the view, I was able to get the sense that he had really transformed the space into his own. While I wasn’t able to fully view Campbell’s dorm, I was able to make the same observations.
I walked around the dorms and found myself thinking back on Davenport’s comparison of the building to a hotel. Every floor has the same organized layout, with a very modern vibe. Hallways feature lounging areas where you can play chess or checkers, and the first floor features a television and a kitchenette. When I was there, the common areas were empty, granted it was in the middle of the school day, but the silence in the dorms was noticeable. As a commuter student, my favorite part about the East End Neighborhood is that it cuts some major time out of my walk from the parking garage to my classes.
Overall, East End Neighborhood is no doubt a wonderful addition to the Rollins College community. Having services like Tarpotle and Campus Safety within the vicinity of the new dormitories makes East End Neighborhood a place of luxury and convenience. Since the construction of the new dorms finished only this past summer, perhaps students simply need time to transform the neighborhood into their new home. There is a lot of potential to be realized. If Davenport could transform his dorm room into a home, then there is no doubt in my mind that students can band together to transform East End Neighborhood into a more welcoming space.
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