Board of Trustees approve final budget for South Campus Residence Hall project

Connor Linskey, The Chronicle, Willimantic, Conn.
·2 min read

Aug. 4—STORRS/MANSFIELD — The University of Connecticut Board of Trustees unanimously approved the final budget for the South Campus Residence Hall at its meeting Wednesday morning.

The budget that was approved was in the amount of $ 215 million. The new residence hall will be located at the corner of Gilbert Road and Mansfield Road on UConn's Storrs campus. It will provide housing for undergraduate students.

The construction of the new dormitory will be funded by $76 million in UConn 2000 bond funds, $124 million in Revenue Bond Funds and $15 million in university funds.

In addition to approving the final budget for the new residence hall, at their meeting on Wednesday, the Board of Trustees unanimously approved the final budget for the Gilbert Road Site Preparation project.

Lloyd Blanchard, UConn's interim vice president for finance and chief financial officer, said the construction process for this project will begin immediately.

The budget for this project is in the amount of $6.6 million and will be funded by UConn 2000 Bond funds. This project prepares the area along Gilbert Road for the construction of the South Campus Residence Hall.

In addition to trees, sidewalks and other site features, the footprint of the new building is in conflict with an existing house on 4 Gilbert Road.

The house was originally constructed in 1917 as faculty housing. Due to the small size of the house, it is not suitable for the majority of academic uses.

The final phase of the Gilbert Road Site Preparation project will consist of the relocation, renovation and site restoration for this house.

This new dormitory is being built to attract more students and keep them on campus.

Several trustees have discussed the importance of offering high-quality student housing.

Modern, up-to-date dormitories attract and retain students, something all major universities strive for.

Officials have also said that dorm life is a vital part of a college student's maturation and high-quality housing supports that. In addition, UConn wants to build a state-of-the-art dormitory conducive to academic success.

" A new South Campus Residence Hall has been identified as a critical building to support life transformative education and to prepare students to become valuable residents of the State of Connecticut and members of

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