UConn Board of Trustees Approves New Residence Hall

The Board of Trustees for the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Conn., recently approved the construction of a new residence hall in south campus.

A university news release reports that the new residence hall, scheduled to open in fall 2024, will have 657 beds and a dining hall with a capacity of 500. The new dorm will stand near the existing South Campus Residence Halls to create a new, shared courtyard between the two.

The project’s budget is $215 million, and funds will come mainly through UConn-issued special obligation bonds, according to the news release. Amenities are set to include communal and private lounges and common spaces, a game room, seminar rooms and meeting rooms, bicycle storage, laundry facilities and multipurpose spaces. The new dining hall was also designed to lessen wait times at other campus dining facilities.

The facility was designed with sustainability features meeting LEED Gold requirements and Connecticut High Performance Building standards. The building will use geothermal wells to tap into the planet’s stable temperature and reduce energy consumption, the news release reports. Landscaped stormwater management areas will also limit water runoff into the nearby Mirror Lake.

The university partnered with architecture firm Sasaki for the building’s design, according to the UConn website.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Chicago District Completes Construction on New Elementary School

    North Chicago School District 187 in North Chicago, Ill., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Forrestal Elementary School, according to a news release. The new school marks a major investment in military-connected students and families at Naval Station Great Lakes.

  • Arizona District Breaks Ground on Community Training, Learning Center

    The Tolleson Union High School District (TUHSD) in Tolleson, Ariz., recently broke ground on a new Training & Learning Center (TLC) for both district professionals and the community at large, according to a news release. The 90,000-square-foot facility has an estimated completion date of spring 2027.

  • abstract illustration of school gym

    How the Gymnasium Can Serve as a Model for Learning Space Design

    Multipurpose gyms work because flexibility was built into the brief from the start, not retrofitted later. The same logic applies to academic spaces.

  • 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.