Unseasonably mild weather is keeping construction of the newest campus dormitory on track.
According to A.J. Nudo, the Assistant Director of Resident Life, the facility will consist of 25 separate dorm rooms. “There will be 21, five-person apartments and four three-person apartments,” said Nudo. He one will be accessible for people with physical disabilities.
Nudo said the new building’s amenities include apartment style living. “This is going to be more of a townhouse-Gildea hybrid,” Nudo said. “It will have a full kitchen and bathroom in each apartment.”
The new facility will also be multi-use, housing three classrooms on the first floor and student lounges on the 2nd and 3rd floors. A resident assistant will be assigned to each floor and one residential director will preside over the entire building.
Progress is moving quickly. “You get one piece and that allows you to do so much more,” said Nudo.
But progress is raising parking concerns among students. “I understand why the new building is being built, but there is barely enough parking now for students and it seems that this new building will cause the parking issue to get worse,” said senior Gabrielle Gattuso, a commuter.
Senior resident Mike Pená shared this concern. “Now that the new building is up, the university must compensate with the students bringing cars that will move into that building as well,” he said.
Robert Zavada, Associate Director of Campus Safety, is confident that the new dorm will not present parking woes.
“The amount of parking spots we are currently without because of construction is less than the amount of new students who will live in the dorm,” Zavada pointed out. “There’s a formula you go by when doing construction.”
Nudo expects the building to be finished by July, and it will be fully furnished and in move in condition for students in August. Interested students must apply in groups, he said. Interested Student trios and quartets can find information on the Room Lottery under Campus Announcements below the Announcements tab on the e-MU home page. The lottery began March 1 and runs until March 29.