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In response to historically high enrollment and a dedication to providing the best facilities possible to its students, staff and faculty, ����AV��Ƶ is once again growing its architectural footprint with a new residence hall.

“For mayors or governors, the presence of cranes would be a sign of success, meaning there is an opportunity to continue to invest in your community — and a university is no different,” said Brian Rose, vice president for student affairs. “Construction is a demonstration that the university can continue to invest in itself, and to make the experience for our students, faculty and staff stronger.”

Located between the CIW and Mountainview communities, the new 350-bed residence hall will feature a suite-style design — in alignment with the collegiate structure of its partner buildings — and will share living space and private bedrooms and will include community areas and other amenities. This addition will push ����AV��Ƶ’s residential programming to over 8,000 beds.

The project is currently scheduled to be completed by June 2027, in time for Fall 2027 move-in.

“The strongest demand for on-campus housing is on lower campus, in the heart of ����AV��Ƶ. The new hall will expand our capacity to house students in the core of campus, where everything is convenient and centrally located,” Rose said. “Investing in these spaces will ultimately drive some additional investment in nearby dining halls over time, and strengthen the on-campus student experience.”

For Rose, who has seen this project slowly gain traction for the last five years, this is just another example of the extraordinary residential experience offered to ����AV��Ƶ students. Rose noted that unlike many other colleges, that operate on structural deficits and low application numbers, ����AV��Ƶ has the opportunity to plan ahead and to anticipate what building projects will be needed in the next decade.

“It isn’t only new construction. To create a capital schedule, you take buildings offline on a regular basis so that you can restore them and improve them. But it gets harder to do that if you don’t have enough beds to meet your demand. Since interest among returning students in staying on campus has also gone up, we’ve been in a position where we’ve delayed building rehabilitation — and we don’t want to continue to do that,” he said. “The opening of the new residence hall will allow us to maintain a more disciplined schedule about rehabilitating our older halls and bringing those buildings up to a newer standard.”

Along with the Oneida Hall renovation currently taking place, the construction of a new residence hall will allow for Hinman College halls to be renovated and improved in the coming years.

“We’re trying to build magnet spaces, both outdoors and indoors, to make it attractive for students to gather informally; we know that students need that overall, for their wellbeing,” Rose said. “Their ability to adjust to the ebbs and flows and the challenges of being a student in our rigorous academic programs are strengthened through more socialization. Creating spaces that facilitate that is a part of the ����AV��Ƶ strategy.”

Making space for community and belonging are especially relevant post-COVID, according to Residential Life. Casey Wall, the director of residential life and housing, said that a major part of their position is removing barriers to student wellbeing.

“Students have changed, and so the amenities we offer in the buildings have changed,” they said. “����AV��Ƶ does a great job of having social space. Meanwhile, students also do like to study in their residence halls more, rather than the traditional spaces like the library. They’re looking for spaces where they might be able to get together and work ‘together, but separately’.”

Wall also made it clear that the project will adhere to state sustainability recommendations: the building is all electric and will include energy-saving facilities. It will include features such as a bicycle storage room, in attempts to encourage students to save on their own carbon footprint.

Additionally, a large focus is being made to improve accessibility across campus.

“One of the challenges with the current terrain of the campus is that parts of it are very steep. For someone with some mobility challenges, it’s very challenging from an ADA perspective,” they said. “One of the features this building will have is a good amount of housing that can accommodate ADA needs, in addition to ADA pathways outside. It will add functionality for folks who live in Mountainview looking to get down to campus and vice versa.”

Some site work and surveying, including fencing, has already begun; major construction and mobilization is expected to begin in late 2025. One pedestrian path between Mountainview and CIW will be closed, though detours mark the way to the other route between the two communities that will not be affected by the work. There should be no impacts on parking. Meanwhile, ����AV��Ƶ is working to facilitate better communication practices to cause as little disruption as possible.

Students are increasingly demanding to stay on campus, Wall said. Post-pandemic, many students wish to take part in the traditional college experience they’ve missed. In addition to the normal yearly growth and influx of transfer students, there is also an interest from families in the physical security and lower costs of an on-campus living option, Rose added.

Altogether, this points to an enormous need. But it also reflects the commitment that ����AV��Ƶ has to its students: a desire to provide the best facilities and resources possible.

“Students get to live and learn with one another and with talented faculty and staff. And the ability to really immerse yourself is a feature that is becoming less common in terms of how people experience undergraduate education,” Rose said. “This provides a platform for people to develop lifelong relationships. They’re not just going to benefit from the talent of their peers for four years — they’re going to benefit from the talent of their peers and the relationships they’ve built for a lifetime.”