Yale Launches Online Auctions to Empty Commons for Renovation

  • 01/02/18

NEW HAVEN, CT – After receiving a $150 million donation from Blackstone co-founder and Yale alumnus Stephen A. Schwarzman, Yale University has plans to create a world-class campus center by renovating the historic Commons and Memorial Hall. Once complete in 2020, the Schwarzman Center will provide a central location for students to meet, eat, and view performing arts.

But before that happens, Yale is tasked with removing and finding a new home for the furniture, fixtures, appliances, professional-grade kitchen equipment, and over 1,000 chairs from the first two floors of the building. To do this, they have launched two online auctions at www.RestaurantEquipment.bid to give the community a chance to bring home a piece of Yale history.

Two auctions will be launched in total: one for the first floor of Commons and one for the basement floor, ending January 11th and 18th respectively.

Bidding for all items starts at $1.00, no matter what the item is, even the kitchen's giant conveyor-driven dishwasher with a sticker price exceeding $50,000. The auction is about finding a good home for the items from Commons. The hope is that many of these pieces will be bid on by Yale students, faculty, and alumni who have a connection to Yale and the history of Commons.

The decision to remove items from Commons through RestaurantEquipment.bid aligns with Yale's ongoing effort to create a sustainable campus. One of the university's primary objectives outlined in the Yale Sustainability Plan 2025 is to ensure sustainable consumption and disposal patterns across campus. Hosting an online auction with bids starting at $1.00 ensures that anyone who can provide a home for the items has a shot at winning them.

Yale Hospitality is a multi-division organization comprised of Yale Dining, Yale Catering, Yale Auxiliary & Retail, as well as a full-service bakery and Culinary Support Center. Yale Hospitality serves an average of 14,000 meals a day in student dining, restaurants, cafés, convenience stores, and at catered events. The organization is comprised of 880 professional, culinary, and service team members. Yale Hospitality has received numerous prestigious awards recognizing its commitment to community, sustainability, and hospitality excellence. In 2016, Yale Hospitality received the coveted International Food Manufacturer Association Silver Plate and ultimately the Gold Plate Awards (the Academy Award of the food industry). In addition, the department was recognized by the honorable Toni Harp, mayor of the City of New Haven for its commitment to the city.

Yale University has been dedicated to expanding and sharing knowledge, inspiring innovation, and preserving cultural and scientific information for future generations since its founding in 1701. Yale's reach is both local and international. It partners with its hometown of New Haven, CT, to strengthen the city's community and economy. And it engages with people and institutions across the globe in the quest to promote cultural understanding, improve the human condition, delve more deeply into the secrets of the universe, and train the next generation of world leaders. Yale is committed to improving the world today and for future generations through outstanding research and scholarship, education, preservation, and practice.

RestaurantEquipment.bid is an online auction platform focusing on restaurant and foodservice equipment. After 30 years of business, RestaurantEquipment.bid has helped thousands of operators source and sell equipment and supplies. Through relationships with global chains, independent operators, manufacturers and distributors, RestaurantEquipment.bid sells equipment and supplies at tremendous value.

Featured

  • Quadient Achieves 25,000 Locker Installations Worldwide

    Global automation platform Quadient recently announced that it has acquired Package Concierge, a U.S.-based parcel management solutions provider, according to a news release. The acquisition pushes Quadient over the 25,000-unit milestone of global installations.

  • New Jersey PreK–12 School Breaks Ground on New STEM Building

    Saddle River Day School (SRDS) in Saddle River, N.J., recently announced that it has broken ground on the new Dr. Kristen Walsh Hall of Science & Entrepreneurship, according to a news release. The school partnered with DIGroup Architecture for the design of the new facility, which will provide the school with space to expand its STEM and business education classes.

  • Boosting Student Wellness and Safety Through Indoor-Outdoor School Spaces

    Engaging students through facilities designed for indoor and outdoor learning and activities reflects a growing awareness of how children learn and thrive, with educators recognizing the importance of getting outside and disconnecting from technology. And, as today’s youth grapple with the urgent mental health crisis of increased anxiety and loneliness fueled by both the pandemic and technology, along with a related crisis in youth physical health, the wellness benefits of getting outside have never been so palpable.

  • OpenStax Celebrates 25th Anniversary of Providing Open Educational Resources

    OpenStax, which expands access of K–12 and higher-education resources and research-informed educational tools, is celebrating its 25th anniversary as 2024 comes to a close, according to a news release. The educational initiative from Rice University has served almost 37 million students in 153 countries and saved students nearly $3 billion in educational costs since its launch in 1999.