Last Friday at approximately 3:30 p.m., Gay Perez, the assistant director of University Apartments, presided over an emotional ribbon cutting ceremony opening a campus building which has been the dream of many faculty and residents for almost ten years.

The E.S. King Village Commons is the newest addition to University Apartments, which also includes Western Manor and Wolf Village.

According to the housing Web site, E.S. King Village is designed for the University’s married, graduate and nontraditional undergraduate student population, and offers studio, one bedroom and two bedroom apartments.

“[The Village Commons is] a gathering place for our residences, as well as an activity center for [all] University Apartments,” Perez said.

Members of the faculty cut the ceremonial ribbon including Tom Stafford, vice chancellor for student affairs, Tim Luckadoo, associate vice chancellor for student affairs and Susan Grant, director of University Housing, as well as several other people involved in the creation and management of the E.S. King Village Commons.

One person who shared and held the dream of a commons area for University Apartments more than any other was Hany Younes, the former associate director for University Housing at E.S. King Village. Younes played a crucial role in planning the commons area and was a driving force behind the building’s concept during his tenure as assistant director, which began in 1997. Younes was on hand to cut the ribbon, and afterward made remarks about the grand opening.

“It is a pleasure to come back home to colleagues, friends — [all] people who I already miss,” Younes said, as his voice choked slightly, displaying his emotions toward the event.

Luckadoo was a resident of E.S. King with his family when he first took a job at the University in 1992. During his remarks, Luckadoo recalled his daughter, who is now a student, coming home from school and playing at the playground with other kids from the Village.

He said when the weather was bad outside the children had to play inside one of the apartments.

“I can remember thinking we need a place for these kids to play — we need a community center,” Luckadoo, said.

Tony Benavente, the E.S. King Village council mayor, said he has three kids and is a resident.

According to him, the environment is very family-centered.

He said that the commons area is one of the beauties of E.S. King Village.

Benavente also mentioned the diversity found in the Village — a fact that was evident from the crowd gathered for the ribbon cutting ceremony.

“I’ve made friends from [places like] China, India and Korea,” Benavente, said.

A lot of planning went into the design and construction of the building, according to Tom Galdi, a facilities engineer for Universty Housing.

He indicated that the hardest part of the building process was the design and planning, which took at least a year.

Galdi said that in the planning process the planning committee strived to be energy conscious.

One of the ways they achieved this goal, he said, was by implementing a state-of-the-art environmental-control system.

Luckadoo expressed his pride in the new commons area.

“I am very proud of this building — very proud of the work done on this building,” he said.