When complete, the new housing facilities will feature classrooms, study rooms, TV lounges and laundry facilities in a addition to student living spaces. A large patio area, fireplaces and lobbies will accommodate art shows, student events, university functions and various types of entertainment for residents year round, according to a statement by EdR of Memphis, Tenn., the project’s developer.

EdR will complete the project via a private-public partnership with the university. The firm was chosen through a competitive selection process to execute all aspects — including development, financing, construction and management — of the project, which will be the largest in the university’s history, according to a statement by the firm. Upon completion, EdR will operate the residence halls under a 75-year lease with NMU and will manage the facility while NMU will provide residence life services. EdR will finance the approximately $80 million housing development through its ONE Plan, which uses the company’s equity and financial stability to fund projects on university land, according to a statement by the firm.

"I think the enhanced on-campus housing is an incredibly positive, transformative opportunity for [NMU]," said NMU President Fritz Erickson in a statement. "It is going to allow us to greatly strengthen our capabilities to recruit and retain students in today’s highly competitive education environment, enrich student life and address a very serious facilities and maintenance issue."

"University leadership has made it clear that increased recruitment, enrollment and retention of top-level students is a priority at Northern Michigan University," said Tom Trubiana, EdR president, in a statement. "Partnering with NMU provides EdR the opportunity to deliver another on-campus housing community that gives the university both a state-of-the-art home for many of its students and a recruiting tool that will compete with any in the nation."

EdR selected Detroit-based Walbridge to manage construction of the six new residence hall buildings, which were designed by Neumann/Smith Architecture with offices in Detroit and Southfield, Mich. Neumann/Smith is also responsible for the redesign of the campus’ John X. Jamrich Hall — formerly a general use classroom building — into a high-tech, flexible, active learning environment that anticipates LEED BD+C certification.

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The project’s primary goal is to help transform the physical campus and rejuvenate the campus experience so that the university can reach its goal of becoming a Top 20 institution. It is also designed to encourage students to stay on campus longer by providing them with a quality living and learning environment. While the new buildings will include contemporary interior spaces, the exteriors will feature traditional brick facades and deep overhangs that match the Clemson aesthetic, making the village an ideal new entrance for the campus.

The central hub facility will be a key place for students to meet and engage, with a bookstore, coffee shop, 400-seat dining hall, convenience store and deli. Housing on the complex’s west side will be geared toward upperclassmen, with four apartment-style buildings. Approximately 700 beds will be available in studio-, two- and four-bedroom apartments. On the east side, an additional 780 beds will be spread across three buildings in double-occupancy rooms for students enrolled in the traditional Clemson program.

All eight buildings will be LEED Silver certified and include sustainable features such as directional, non-intrusive LED parking-area lighting that can be programmed remotely to shut off when not in use. A tree survey was also conducted on campus in order to preserve as many trees as possible during the project. Of the 800 trees existing on campus prior to construction, 300 will need to be removed; however, 400 additional trees will be planted in their place.

While the $212 million expansion project construction will focus on the eight new buildings, a large portion of the work will also go toward establishing supportive infrastructure, according to Clemson University team members Mike Parker, project manager, and Doug Hallenbeck, executive director for University Housing and Dining. This includes work related to utilities such as natural gas, potable water, storm water, sanitary sewers, electrical and communication systems, a central energy plant with chilled water distribution, roads and parking lots.

Washington, D.C.-based Ayers Saint Gross, Columbia, S.C.-based The Boudreaux Group and Virginia Beach, Va.-headquartered Clark Nexsen worked collaboratively to design the massive project. Parker and Hallenbeck said that students were also actively involved in the early phases of design, and focus groups have been used throughout the project to help make decisions on things such as furniture and food options.

The project team also has had to work closely with the city of Clemson residents, many of whom live adjacent to the development and were concerned about the impact this project would have on their neighborhood. It took several meetings and some honest conversations, but the two groups were able to come to a resolution, added Parker and Hallenbeck.

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Stevens & Wilkinson is working in association with VMDO Architects to provide architectural, engineering and interior design services for the Glenn and Towers Residence Halls revamp. This project will completely replace the buildings’ aging infrastructure systems, and bring both up to current ADA standards. More than 63,000 square feet will be upgraded in Glenn Hall, while just over 53,000 feet will benefit from renovations in Towers Hall.
“The 616 residents will enjoy new expanded social and study lounges, restrooms and laundries on every floor,” said Ron Stang, AIA, LEED AP, chairman for Stevens & Wilkinson Georgia in a statement.. “The renovation scope includes incorporating new elevators; converting existing open attic spaces into two new residential floors; and replacing slate roofs and historically accurate windows.”
The firms have also designed a new 8,400-square-foot facility that will connect the two residence halls, finally fulfilling the school’s original 1940 master plan. This structure will include a fitness center, several multipurpose meeting rooms, a classroom and a collection of study rooms. Thanks to a variety of sustainability measures, the combined 125,000-square-foot project is currently on track for LEED Gold certification upon its completion in mid 2015.
Exterior upgrades will include establishing a new outdoor recreation and entertainment space, as well as a walkway better linking the halls to other parts of the campus.
“The renovation of the halls sets the stage for the establishment of enriched student living accommodations that are in keeping with the high level of standards for which Georgia Tech is known,” Stang said.

Concurrently, Stevens & Wilkinson is completing an overhaul of three Clemson University housing facilities. In keeping with its 2002 Campus Master Plan, the university will demolish and replace three major buildings in the campus’ center in a quest to fundamentally reimagine the entire Core Campus Precinct, according to a statement from Stevens & Wilkinson.

During the initial development of Clemson’s Campus Master Plan, the university conducted a study examining forward-looking approaches to its housing, academic, dining and student life programs, and how they might be combined into a dynamic, mixed-used facility. VMDO Architects was also selected to direct the Clemson project, and again partnered with Stevens & Wilkinson, as well as Sasaki Associates with offices in Shanghai and Watertown, Mass.

VMDO developed a 700-bed housing initiative then collaborated with the two firms to develop “a clear and engaging vision for the precinct’s evolution,” according to Stevens & Wilkinson. The Clemson University Core Campus Housing project is scheduled for completion in 2016. The project will involve 179,000 square feet of residential space, with an additional 76,000 square feet of dining space and 5,000 square feet of academic space.

"The design fits very well with the Campus Master Plan and has embellished it in ways we could never have otherwise articulated,” said Gerald Vander May, director, campus planning for Clemson University, in a statement. “The program was very challenging, but through innovative problem solving and tireless interaction, the team has taken the complex goals of the university and fashioned a vision that has taken root.”

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