University Facilities, Planning and Physical Plant leadership teams have been renovating the Cohen Student Union to create a comfortable place students and staff can enjoy for years to come. 

The renovation started in late October 2023 with announcements that Einstein Bros. Bagels was temporarily changing its location to The Rally and the entrance to Harv’s Place was blocked off to keep students from disturbing the project.

On April 23, Cohen Student Union had its grand re-opening to the public. This included the re-opening of Einstein’s original location. The result brought a more spacious, open and modern feeling to the space.

“Even at the end of the day, when Einstein’s is closed, this space is still available to our students and employees to hang around,” President Aysegul Timur said about the change in her opening speech at the grand opening. “This is truly a place for us to continue our FGCU family being here together.”

Friend groups, study groups, professors and other employees flock to the student lounge to hang out, get work done, or just grab a bite to eat. This marked the beginning of Phase I of the student center renovations, with more to come.

“It has its pros and cons,” junior Rebecca Gorman said. “I really like how it’s more open and connected with everything so it can bring people together, but it also kind of lacks the character that it used to have that made it feel more homey.” 

The completion of Cohen Student Union has been a continuous renovation process. When FGCU first opened in 1997, there was no student union. It took seven years to build. Cohen officially opened in 2004 and had its first renovation in 2011. The building was named after Harvey and Janet Cohen and the open space as Harv’s Place, to honor Harvey Cohen.

The last renovation before the most current remodel took place in 2019 when the second ballroom was added on the second floor. 

This summer, renovation continued by focusing on the restrooms and food court. The restrooms were modernized to fit the theme of the rest of the student union’s upgrades. 

The food court received new ceilings, flooring and furniture for more seating options. In addition, a big part of the food court renovation is the reorganization of ordering kiosks to allow for more waiting space. 

“The changes we have made, in line with Chick-fil-A’s national brand standards, were pulling the kiosks away from the typical service counter to a centralized location. Our new ‘kiosk wall’ will allow for a centralized ordering location within the food court for all three locations,” Director of Business Services Antoinette Biffar said. 

Separating the ordering kiosks at Chick-fil-A from the pick-up line would aid the congestion surrounding the restaurant when waiting for food. 

The first phase of renovations were such a success among students that more furniture was added to the Einstein’s location this summer to accommodate larger crowds. 

Phase II will come in early 2025 and will last the entire year. It will focus on the building’s exterior and provide the entrance to Cohen Student Union with the same modern look as the rest of the renovated areas. 

“Our hope is to encourage students, faculty and staff to enjoy the fresh atmosphere as we continue on the path of making the Cohen Student Union the ‘living room’ of the university,” Biffar said.