Waco, Texas, techinical college breaks ground on residence hall

Texas State Technical College has broken ground on a $20 million, 102,000-square-foot residence hall in the heart of the Waco campus.

The Waco Tribune-Herald reports that the three-story Griffith Hall is set to open next year and will feature 246 units for students.

“We are very excited about this new building,” says Ray Fried, associate vice chancellor of facilities planning and construction.. “It is really going to transform our student housing on this campus. One challenge is to keep the housing affordable for our students, and we really worked hard to make that happen.”

The new building is part of a plan to modernize the former Air Force base where the college campus is situated.

That includes the demolition of almost 500 original base homes built in the 1950s and early 1960s that served as residences for military personnel and their families, and later, students at the technical college.

Demolition started in August. After the ground is cleared, the residential area on the southwest portion of campus will become an open green space that can be used for parks or future developments, says Karen Waller, vice president of facilities planning and construction.

The Waco campus, which enrolls 2,773 students, will have as many or more on-campus student housing units available when the new residence hall is built.

Of those 2,773 students, about 1,600 are from outside the Waco or Central Texas area, school officials say.

The Texas Legislature appropriated $29.6 million for the three-phase demolition project, which campus officials will use for the removal and abatement of 488 homes and about 20 other buildings on the Waco campus.

The new 246-unit student housing, being built at 401 Campus Drive, will feature a large gathering area in the first-floor lobby and have 42 rooms with one bed and one bath; 180 rooms with 2 bedrooms, 2 baths and a shared living space; and 24 rooms with two bedrooms and a shared bathroom and common area.

College officials think providing more modern student housing on campus will help attract new students, Fried said.