GREEN BAY ― To accommodate a growing student population and aging facilities, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is building its first new residence hall in 12 years.
The university has 11 residence halls, nine shared-room apartment buildings and six private-room apartment buildings on campus.
The new residence hall, as yet unnamed, will be along the southern edge of the campus residences, near R.E. Small Hall and Ted Lenfestey Hall.
Here are five things to know about the new digs on campus:
It will be the largest residence hall on UWGB’s campus.
The residence hall will be the largest on campus once it’s completed. It will house 200 students in two-person and four-person apartment-style rooms.
There will be a shared common space with a kitchen area, providing students with more independence than traditional dorms.
The hall is being built so that more rooms can be added, depending on enrollment. In Phase 2, rooms would be added to double the hall’s capacity.
The project will cost $38 million.
The project is estimated to cost $38 million and is funded by the University Village Housing Inc., a private, nonprofit group that formed in the 1980s to develop affordable student housing at the university.
University Village Housing Inc. builds the residence halls on campus, secures the bonds for construction, covers the debt service and pays the insurance expenses. UWGB is responsible for the marketing, contracting, staffing and overall operations of the residence halls.
UWGB gets exclusive use of the residence halls until 2031, when it will have the opportunity to purchase the University Village Housing Inc. properties for the amount of the outstanding mortgages.
The residence hall replaces older campus apartments.
Some older student apartments are reaching the end of their lifespan, according to Gail Sims-Aubert, interim vice chancellor for University Inclusivity and Student Affairs.
Those apartments aren’t owned by University Village Housing Inc., but the new hall will be.
It will be the ‘greenest’ residence hall on campus.
Immel Construction, the construction manager, and Bernes Schober, the architect, designed the hall with energy efficiency and sustainability in mind.
It will have high-efficiency water heaters and low-flow aerators to save thousands of gallons of water each year.
The residence hall will feature 98% high-efficiency boilers and air-cooled chiller, improved indoor air quality ventilation systems and energy-saving electrical fixtures throughout the building.
The design also includes a connection for a solar panel system, allowing up to 32 panels.
The residence hall is set to open in fall 2024.
The residence hall is scheduled to open in fall 2024, largely for sophomore students.
The project was started in 2020, and the University Village Housing Inc. thought it had a building plan ready to go in 2021. But due to insurmountable costs, the group had to go back to the drawing board and make cuts.
Source: Here are 5 things to know about UWGB’s new $38 million residence hall.
