University of Connecticut is constructing a $215 million residence hall on its south campus

The University of Connecticut has approved the construction of a $215 million residence hall on its south campus in Storrs, Conn.

The facility will have about 657 beds and a dining hall with about 500 seats, the university says in a news release. 

The building will be constructed near the university's existing south campus residence halls.

Features will include open and private lounges, common spaces, a game room, laundry facilities, bicycle storage, seminar rooms, meeting rooms, and multipurpose spaces.

The additional dining hall will shorten wait times at other campus dining facilities. Seating areas will have high ceilings and clerestory windows that will bring daylight into the space.

The building is designed to meet LEED Gold requirements and Connecticut High Performance Building Standards. Energy demands for the new building will be reduced by a geo-thermal system. The geo-thermal wells are part of the university’s initiative to reduce fossil fuel use. 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 fall 2024.