The renovation of Dodge Hall, which houses the university’s business program, recently wrapped, creating an open, modern space for students to work and socialize. Shawmut Construction and Design of Boston completed the 5,000-square-foot project, which also included transforming the lobby into an open space and an enclosed suite into a new student lounge, refreshing a conference room, and updating seating and work areas. Shawmut, according to a statement by the firm, also reconfigured the suite to create a new Center for Global Business, including office spaces. In partnership with CBT Architects, Shawmut also added custom features such as baffle ceiling fixtures backlit with color-changing LED lights, radius millwork soffits, woven vinyl flooring and bench walls with built-in backlit signage.

“Our team implemented a strategy to ensure we didn’t disturb Northeastern students and faculty and that Dodge Hall remained fully operational,” said Kevin Sullivan, vice president at Shawmut Construction and Design, in a statement. “We look forward to seeing how the renovations enhance the student and faculty experience.”

In January, the university also announced plans to construct an 800-bed undergraduate residence and multi-use project, which according to a statement by the university rep¬re¬sents an inno¬v¬a¬tive approach to housing more stu¬dents in university-supervised buildings.

The building will feature apartment-style suites, ground-floor commercial spaces and other student services, and will be completed in partnership with developer Amer¬ican Campus Com¬mu¬ni¬ties (ACC) of Bee Cave, Texas, which spe¬cial¬izes in building student-housing com¬mu¬ni¬ties. ACC will lease the university-owned Burke Street parking lot, according to a statement by the university, where it will build and then manage the facility, leasing directly to students.

The project, which has a larger capacity than was originally out¬lined in the school’s 2013 master plan documents, is one in a line of student housing projects that aim to make campus housing available to a larger portion of the student body. Northeastern debuted the East Village residence in 2015, which brought its total housing capacity to more than 9,000. The project also contributes to an 18,500-undergraduate student bed goal set by Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh to reduce the number of stu¬dents living off-campus in the city by 50 percent, according to a statement by Northeastern.
 

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Currently referred to as the Madison Street Residence Hall, the project is expected to cost $95 million with an estimated start date in September. Rather than a simple one-tower high rise, the facility will feature three nine-story towers on a three-story base. That base will sit above the 500-year flood zone on the site of a soon-to-be-demolished water plant.

The majority of rooms within the residence hall will be double occupancy, though some single occupancy rooms and three to four student rooms will be included. In addition to residences, the hall will offer study rooms, recreation and multipurpose spaces, kitchen and dining facilities, a fitness center and a laundry room. Pod-style bathrooms featuring several private, showers, sinks and toilets — a design already implemented in several other University of Iowa dormitories — will also be included.

Iowa City-based architecture firm Rohrbach Associates designed the new hall, which will serve first- and second-year students. Miron Construction of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was awarded the $78 million construction contract in early 2015. The university will complete the project using the design-build method, allowing for completion within a smaller timeframe and a smaller budget.

Anticipating an increase of 500 additional students per year through 2019, the University of Iowa is also working to complete the new 501-bed, $53 million Mary Louise Petersen Hall, which will open in fall 2015. Petersen Hall is the first new residence hall built on the campus since the late 1960s and will replace the 358-bed Quadrangle Hall. Along with the nine other halls already on campus, these two new facilities will bring the campus’ housing capacity to well over 6,000.

“We’re very pleased to be able to move forward on these new projects,” said Tom Rocklin, UI vice president for student life, in a statement. “We anticipate we’ll remain working to accommodate large first-year classes, so this will help us meet student demand and continue offering the best possible living experience for our students.”

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“Now that we have completed the building’s structure, we get to start on the intricate details that will make this innovative living-learning center a home for UF students,” said Chris Gregory, project manager at Brasfield & Gorrie, in a statement.

An entrepreneurial-based academic residence community, Infinity Hall is the result of a public-private partnership between the university and the Jacksonville office of Shanghai-based real estate development and construction management firm Signet Development. Through a services and affiliation agreement with the University of Florida, Signet Development will develop, finance, own and manage Infinity Hall, representing the first privatized development within the 40-acre community known as Innovation Square.

UF’s Innovation Square is an urban research district that brings business, science and academia together with residential life in an effort to foster innovation and strengthen the community’s economic and cultural viability. As Infinity Hall is geared specifically toward forward-thinking students, and with its close proximity to campus amenities and academic resources, both UF officials and Signet Development representatives hope it will serve as a birthplace for new ideas and innovations.

“Infinity Hall is the first private sector finance project to arise from the vision of the public-private partnership that defines Innovation Square,” said UF President Bernie Machen in a statement. "Infinity Hall is the first residence hall in Gainesville — and among only a handful in the nation — designed for young entrepreneurs who mean so much to our future as a community and as a country."

Different from other campus housing facilities, Infinity Hall will offer all the tools and resources necessary for students to begin their entrepreneurial journeys. The interdisciplinary living and learning center will serve as a connector between students’ academic coursework, internship experiences, professional and peer mentorship and experiential learning, creating an environment that supports academics as well as business incubation. It will also be the first residence hall that allows students to use university housing as the base of operations for a small business.

When completed, the five-story, $23 million Infinity Hall will house more than 300 UF students in eight single rooms, 16 single suites, 48 double suites and 20 quad-suite residences. Lounges, kitchens, laundry facilities and recreation rooms will also be included. In addition to these residential amenities, Infinity Hall will offer a number of collaboration spaces and teaching areas on the ground floor, as well as a 3-D printer, to promote idea generation and creativity.

Infinity Hall was designed by the Atlanta office of global architecture firm Perkins + Will. Work on the building began in October 2014, and the project is currently on track for a fall 2015 opening.

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The small, marine sciences-oriented university selected Ft. Lauderdale-based firm Moss & Associates for design-build of new six-story facility. Hunt Companies of El Paso is financing and developing the project, its first with Texas A&M. PGAL, a Houston architecture firm, was selected to design the facility. Construction began on June 30 and is currently scheduled for completion in the fall of 2015.

“Hunt is honored and excited to have the opportunity to work with Texas A&M University at Galveston on this important project," said Sinclair Cooper, co-president of Hunt’s Public-Private Partnership division, in a release. "This partnership will create a more comfortable and accommodating living environment for current and future cadets, and allow for greater flexibility and housing options for the growing student population. We look forward to beginning what we hope to be a long and lasting relationship with the Texas A&M University System.”

According to a release provided by Moss & Associates, the 612-bed development will feature a design focused on providing Maritime Academy cadets with direct access to residential and leadership areas, as well as centralized gathering locations. The Cadet Hall design consists of two residential wings connected to a central commons, and features an illuminated formation court and amenities suitable for the most modern facilities. The commons includes four classrooms, study lounges, flexible social spaces, staff and cadet offices, a reception area, common laundry facilities, a convenience shop, and storage areas.

“This project will be designed and built to provide future cadets, instructors and staff with a sophisticated environment for learning and living strong in comfort and amenities,” Moss & Associates Senior Vice President Mike Mazza said in a statement.

The university’s current campus master plan, developed by Ford, Powell & Carson Architects & Planners Inc. of San Antonio, describes the Texas Maritime Academy as “a special community within the larger campus community.” According to the master plan document, it was important that the university fostered a sense of community within the Corps of Cadets, and separate, dedicated housing was an obvious method of reaching this goal.

The location of the Maritime Academy Cadet Residence Hall was also important as connections to the ship and the drill platform required direct pedestrian access.

“Separating the Corps housing from general housing is also useful for functional reasons,” the planners wrote. “Cadets are required to stand watches on the Texas Clipper and participate in other activities such as morning formation; schedules for these activities are generally very different from the schedules of non-Corps students, so separating the Corps housing will ease such conflicts.”

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