The new residence halls are set to be completed in July 2016.
The main purpose for the construction of the new halls is to provide more living space on campus because student enrollment has increased.
The two residence halls are named after Mark and Wilma Register Sharp ’66, after the couple donated a generous gift of $2 million towards the Cormier Honors College. The new residence halls take the names of Sharp Hall and Register Hall, honoring the couple’s generosity.
Construction for the two halls started in May 2015 and are located directly in front of Arc Hall just behind the Greenwood Library. In between Sharp and Register Halls, there will be a common area which is shared with Arc.
“There is a really nice courtyard between the two, so I think that is going to really encourage a sort of sense of community,” said Kim Bass, Major Construction Project Manager.
The halls are designed similar to other residence halls on campus, such as Arc and Cox.
The bottom floor of the residence halls will consist of lounges, a common laundry room, a staff check in office, four-bedroom residence suites, and apartments for the residence life coordinators and staff members. There is a two-bedroom apartment in one of the residence halls and the other holds a one-bedroom apartment for the residence hall coordinators. The rest of the residence hall, floors two through four, is set up as suite style rooms and each floor has a lounge or kitchenette area.
Each suite has two bedrooms which share a bathroom. Bass added that the layout is set up in the hopes of allowing for more than one person to have access to the bathroom while still maintaining privacy.
Each room is approximately 11x16 feet and holds two beds, two desks, and two wardrobes instead of closets. The halls are equipped to hold about 200 students, roughly 112 beds per residence hall.
“The new construction (is) to incorporate those very traditional Longwood elements. So you see them (buildings) … are all designed to look closely like the Longwood traditional building design,” said Jerry Jerome, the Facilities Planner and Master Plan Coordinator.
The exterior design consists of a red roof, traditional brickwork, pillars, and traditional windows to incorporate into the current look of campus.
After construction of the halls is finished, the residence halls will need to be filled with furniture which the university has under contract and will be delivered after construction is complete.
Along with the finishing interior touches, the landscaping for the courtyard and areas outside will also undergo finishing touches with the help of grounds keeping.
The halls will open for the fall 2016 semester.
