Are you familiar with the place “Where everybody knows your name … and they’re always glad you came?”

Oh C’mon! Are we all a bit too young to remember the show Cheers? (It’s OK. I was born in ’86 and at the time, I was more concerned with Mr. Rogers and Thomas the Tank Engine).

Cheers took place in a Boston bar called Cheers and aired on NBC from 1982-1993. The show followed friends that met to drink and have fun (sounds pretty familiar to our daily lives, no?).

No twists. No crude humor. Cheers taught us to enjoy the finer things in life. It was plain and simple.

I’m not here today to talk to you about TV shows that have been rerunning on TV Land since the infancy of the Bill Clinton Administration.

No, friend. I’m here to help you reflect on the place that enables us to recalibrate, meet with our friends, and help us see that “our troubles are all the same.”

That place is something I’m afraid some of us take for granted…

That place is CTB.

And that is exactly somewhere that Cornell needs to be using its funds to add to its real estate portfolio, as well as adding a viable revenue generator and enhancing the quality of life for faculty, staff, and students.

Our mornings begin at CTB. We’re able to pick up our favorite college-daily, grab a coffee and a cream cheese bagel and make that trip to campus.

In the snow, sleet, rain, and sunshine, CTB is there. It doesn’t close because of weather. It’s a constant in our lives.

Sometimes, our afternoons bring us back to the corner. We’re able to get that Turkey Hill BLT, share a pitcher of Sangria with some close friends, and exchange stories from the day.

After a night of socializing, the warm atmosphere welcomes us back for a sandwich, a bagel, or just some company.

There is no other place in Collegetown that truly brings all together. Those who are 21 and those who aren’t are always welcome. Unlike the bars, we are provided with a place to sit, drink (alcoholic beverages or non) and break bread.

When I look back at my four years at Cornell, I’ll reflect fondly upon a lot of things. But I’ll most fondly back at the times I sat on the CTB patio, had a drink with friends, and people-watched.

Hell, I’ve had some of my best ideas outside on that patio.

Herein though lies the problem, fellow CTB patrons:

I have a minor in real estate, but it doesn’t take a genius to tell you that the valuable piece of land on that corner could go at any time, if the price is right. The undeveloped patio represents three stories of potential apartments in a prime location.

Currently, according to PropertyShark.com, the building is owned by Student Agencies and is appraised (for tax purposes) at just over $1 million. I guarantee you that the fair market value of the land and the building is over that amount. But the hefty price tag is not only worth it, it will save (and potentially, make) money for the University.

Why would Cornell want to buy CTB’s building, you might ask?

Well, in recent years, there has been a lot of talk about building a Collegetown Community Center.

What more perfect location to have one? In addition to incorporating the still-independent CTB and the patio into the new community center, the upper floors can be used as a gym facility, study area, and meeting room space. Additionally, CTB — in gaining C.U. as a landlord — would protect itself against the dangers of rising rents or even of having its building sold out from under it.

What a smart investment! In one swing of the bat, Cornell would solve the “need for a campus pub” discussion, which my friend Ryan Lavin ’09, President of the S.A., has been fighting for since he was a sophomore in high school.

Cornell would also add to its already impressive portfolio of à la carte dining facilities that would not only accept Big Red Bucks, but that would also generate additional sources of revenue for the University.

With the large percentage of Cornell students residing in Collegetown, the new CTB Collegetown Community Center would be a much more convenient and viable option than Noyes Community Center, or any facility on North Campus.

CTB is more than a place that has a social atmosphere. CTB is the place that brings academic endeavors together with social endeavors.

Fellow Cornellians, when you come back in 25 years with your child, a prospective Cornellian, you may not recognize the buildings. Your fraternity house might have been renovated or shut down. Your Collegetown apartment may have been demolished.

But how devastating it would be if you walked through Collegetown and instead of a friendly patio and bagel shop, there was a group of large, ugly apartment buildings.

CTB is a staple in Collegetown and its something we need to protect.

Let’s hope that generations of Cornellians to come, including our children, are able to enjoy it as much as we do.

C.J. Slicklen is a senior in the School of Hotel Administration. He can be reached at slicklen@cornell.edu. Closing Time appears alternate Wednesday’s this semester.