As students begin the annual migration to campus, many will be greeted by the recently  completed residence hall welcoming them with open arms.

The new residence hall, which broke ground directly west of Fischer Hall in April 2018, features a unique “suite-like” design to its rooms. This design allows for two double-sized rooms to be conjoined by an area with a sink and bathroom. University Housing refers to this design as “pod-style.”

The new residence hall features 20 pods per floor with the exception to first floor. Two resident assistant each will have studio-apartment type units on each floor.

“It is like no other dorm. You get the dorm life like Arey/Fricker, but you get the apartment life like Starin. It’s an amazing mix of living on your own and having a life of your own,” said Senior Resident Assistant Alex Heath.

“With about 130 other RAs on campus, there are so many amazing people who would fit the new hall perfectly, he said. I’m just excited that I get to make new traditions and build on what was an amazing 2018-2019 school year!”

The new residence hall does not yet have a formal title, but it does have many amenities for the new residents. Those include a fireplace in the lobby, an expansive common area located on the first floor, a kitchen unit on each floor and air conditioning throughout the hall.

The kitchen units features a refrigerator, microwave, and a sink. Students who wish to utilize a stove or oven need to visit the expanded kitchen unit on the first floor.

“The part of the new hall I find most interesting is that they have built a kitchen on each floor for the residents to use,” said sophomore resident Sarah Harder.

The application process for the new residence hall continues to operate similar to Starin Hall and Cambridge Apartments. Under this process, students need to complete their application at a date earlier than the standard residence halls.

“If you have facilities that are in high demand, you want to get those out of the way so people know what options are left going forward,” said Executive Director of University Housing Frank Bartlett.

“The demand for all those were in high demand,” he said. “Demand for those definitely exceeded the supply.”

With the inaugural wave of students moved into the new residence hall, University Housing officials await student feedback to gauge its success and plan their next residential project. For now, the excitement and potential could not be any higher.