Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

University of Maryland Opens New Residence Hall

  • By Matt Jones
  • 09/01/21

The University of Maryland in College Park, Md., has a new dorm on campus. Pyon-Chen Hall opened its doors in time for the fall semester to about 450 University Honors living-learning program students, as well as others. The 131,000-square-foot facility stands six stories and features single and double rooms.

According to the university website, the dorm is named after two trailblazing Asian-American students from the university’s past. Pyon Su was the first Korean student to earn a degree from a U.S. college or university, while Chunjen Constant Chen was the first Chinese student enrolled at the Maryland Agricultural College (UMD’s former name). The dorm is the first to open in the school’s new Heritage Community. A second dorm, Johnson-Whittle Hall, is set to open in 2022, and the community will also feature a new 70,000-square-foot dining hall.

Amenities include air conditioning; a central lounge space; private study rooms; private, unisex bathrooms; a multipurpose room; a 24-hour laundry facility; and a building kitchen. Each bedroom comes equipped with data jacks for telephone and computer use.

The Heritage Community project broke ground in summer 2019 and will span 15 years of both new dorm construction and the renovation of older dorms on campus.

“As we build new residence halls, we’re always looking to hear from students, to hear what they most need,” said Tracy Kiras, Resident Life assistant director for communications and marketing.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Kimball International Releases Curated Design Support Program

    Commercial furnishings company Kimball International recently announced the launch of a new end-to-end design support program, DesignSuite. According to a news release, its goal is to guide architecture & design professionals and dealer partners through the process from vision to specification.

  • Ohio State University Opens 26-Story Hospital

    The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center recently opened in Columbus, Ohio, standing 26 stories and covering 1.9 million square feet, according to a university news release. The project marks ten years of effort and is the university’s largest single-facility construction project ever.

  • College of the Desert Hits Construction Milestone on New Campus

    College of the Desert recently announced that the construction of its new Palm Springs Campus in Palm Springs, Calif., recently reached a major construction milestone, according to a news release. The college is partnering with general contractor C.W. Driver Companies, which recently “topped out” the facility by placing the final beam in its structure.

  • University of Arizona Approves New Residence Hall

    The Arizona Board of Regents recently approved plans for a new residence hall at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., according to a news release. The new facility is scheduled to open in fall 2028 and have the capacity for more than 1,200 students, enforcing a new university expectation that all first-year students live on campus.