Morgan State unveils first new residence hall in more than 3 decades
Morgan State University, a historically black institution in Baltimore, has opened Thurgood Marshall Hall, a $95 million residence hall with some 670 beds for undergraduate and graduate students.
University President David K. Wilson said in a message to students that the 10-story facility is the first new residence hall built on Morgan State’s Campus in more than 30 years. He cautioned that when the building opened in August, workers were still completing several interior public spaces and doing final grading and landscaping to the grounds immediately surrounding the building. In addition, the dining facility in the hall is not finished; university officials expect it to be operating by the end of the semester.
The building will form a new campus hub for student activity. Building amenities include fitness centers, study rooms, and a convenience store.
The residence hall also pays tribute to Thurgood Marshall, a Baltimore native and the first African American Justice of the Supreme Court. Exhibits detailing his legacy will be woven into the design of the building.
The architect is Hord Coplan Macht.
Belmont University’s newest residence hall is its largest
The newest residence hall at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., is also its largest.
The university has opened the $98 million Caldwell Hall as part of Belmont’s residential village on the southeast side of campus. The new facility can accommodate 606 students and increases Belmont’s capacity for on-campus living to more than 60% of its students.
The building primarily features four-bedroom units, along with single studios and two-to-six-bedroom units, all with private bedrooms. Amenities include flexible basement space, practice rooms, a fitness center, a two-story lobby featuring study and gathering areas, a laundry room and two exterior courtyards.
The architect is ESa, and the contractor is R.C. Matthews.
At 268,000 square feet, Caldwell Hall is Belmont’s largest residence hall. The university has added more than 4,300 residential spaces on campus in the past several years through the construction of 11 residence halls.
University of Louisville opens another residence hall for first-year students.
For the second year in a row, the University of Louisville has opened a residence hall for first-year students.
The new hall, with the straightforward name of New Residence Hall, has been built on the main campus directly opposite Belknap Residence Hall, which opened in 2021.
The 450-student, traditional-style housing facility provides space primarily for first-year students in one- and two-bedroom units on five floors. It also will be home to the university’s new Center for Engaged Learning, which provides students with hands-on job and research opportunities.
University officials say that together, the two residence halls have placed 900 first-year students close to numerous campus amenities such as Swain Student Activities Center, the Interfaith Center and Ekstrom Library.
Louisville says it has invested $87 million in these two student housing projects. To make room, the university demolished Miller and Threlkeld halls, which had been home to first-year students for close to six decades.
The New Residence Hall was designed with input from students and offers common areas with abundant natural light, classrooms, private study rooms, a game room, a kitchen and several laundry areas. It also features private bathrooms.
New residence hall at Missouri State University
Missouri State University has opened a 400-student residence hall on its Springfield campus.
Heitz House was built through a public-private partnership between the university and Bryan Student Housing LLC. Missouri State took full ownership of the $24 residence hall in July.
The seven-story building has four stories of parking with three stories of living space on top. It has single-user private bathrooms, shared community spaces, a dining center and retail space.
The university partnered in May 2018 with Bryan Student Housing to build the residence hall, but because of Covid-19, the project was delayed until this year.
$215 million residence hall approved for University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut has approved the construction of a $215 million residence hall on the Storrs campus.
The facility will have about 657 beds and a dining hall with about 500 seats, the university says in a news release. The additional dining hall will shorten wait times at other campus dining facilities. Amenities in the residence hall will include lounges, common spaces, a game room, laundry facilities, bicycle storage, seminar rooms, meeting rooms, and multipurpose spaces.
The building is designed to meet LEED Gold requirements. Energy demands for the new building will be reduced by a geothermal system. The project also includes landscaped storm water management areas that will limit rainwater runoff to Mirror Lake.
The residence hall is expected to open in 2024.
Suite-style living space opens at Cal State Fullerton
California State University, Fullerton, has opened a campus housing community that provides living space for 600 students.
Dubbed “The Suites,” the development consists of three new residence halls: Noble, Redwood and Laurel.
Eight students live together in a suite. The unit has four double-occupancy rooms, two bathrooms and a small kitchenette. Each floor has several suites with a common area.
The addition of this new facility will bring total on-campus housing capacity to 2,200 students.
“We need to meet the demand for student housing as we encourage more students to live on campus,” said Larry Martin executive director of Housing and Residential Engagement. “We’ve noticed a shift in students’ attitudes about on-campus living. They recognize the convenience and the opportunities to connect with campus resources while really getting to know their peers.”
