The Cove is now empty and closed. But when students return from the December winter break, the former Cove will be churning out students with shining smiles and hot, new hair.

The University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union has selected a nationwide campus dental clinic chain and a hair salon to move into Lower Place Riel as early as January.

The two new tenants will move into the vacant bay that was most recently home to Campus Cove, the university’s longtime arcade and games room.

A third proposal from a potential tenant for the space is expected to be selected in the coming months.

Over the summer, the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union ran weekly advertisements in the StarPhoenix asking for proposals from potential businesses interested in leasing the space. Proposals from food and beverage vendors, however, were not accepted due to restrictions listed in the union’s agreements with the current food court tenants.

The USSU originally hoped to find a single tenant to lease the entire 3,000-square-foot space, but instead had to divide it among three businesses.

In 2003, the USSU surveyed students on their vision for Place Riel, prior to the multi-million-dollar renovation. A dental clinic and hair salon were two of the services requested. The survey also helped the union choose to introduce a pharmacy and some of the food options available.

These services “fit within our vision of Place Riel, which is a place where students can go to get all of the services that are available for them,” USSU Vice-President of Operations and Finance Steven Heidel said.

Heidel said both the dental clinic and the hair salon have signed a lease and will move in during December after the space has been revamped to house three separate businesses.

The businesses should then be open when students return to school in January, Heidel said.

Campus Dentist, the dental chain that will be moving in, specializes in providing dental work to students and has locations at McMaster University, University of Waterloo and University of Guelph.

The Campus Dentist franchise is a member of the nationwide student care network that gives post-secondary students additional dental coverage. The insurance plan offered by the USSU includes up to 70 per cent coverage on dental work while Campus Dentist will provide up to an additional 20 per cent.

Campus Dentist will offer checkups, cleanings, fillings, wisdom teeth extractions and teeth whitening while accepting new patients and emergencies.

La Bio Hair Boutique, who has also signed a new tenant agreement for the vacant space in Lower Place Riel, is independently owned and operated.

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Photo: Raisa Pezderic/The Sheaf