A ribbon-cutting ceremony on homecoming weekend will mark the completion of the first new residence hall in more than 40 years at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
The event will be at 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 7. The public is invited to tour Suites@201 following the brief ceremony. The new facility is located at 201 Reserve St., on the north end of the UW-Stevens Point campus. Parking will be available in Lot Q, east of the building.
When the facility welcomed upperclassmen this fall, it was the first time in UW-Stevens Point history that students were staying in four-bedroom suite apartments as part of the Residential Living program on campus.
“This is a great opportunity for our upperclassmen to have apartment-style living and still maintain the benefits of living on campus,” said Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Al Thompson. “They get the best of two worlds.”
The $25.5 million-dollar project was built to the highest green building and performance measures, fitting with UWSP’s focus on sustainability. Although it was built to the minimum of a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification, it may qualify for a Gold Rating.
The five-story, two-elevator building, constructed at the site of the former Hyer Hall, is able to house about 328 residents in 82, four-bedroom suites and one hall director apartment. Five of the suites, one on each floor, include accommodations for community advisers that offer a private corridor entrance into the CA’s room.
The suites are completely furnished with a full kitchen, three-compartment bathroom (sink, shower, toilet), a living room and four bedrooms. Several of the suites are designed to be handicap accessible. In addition to the suites, the hall includes common areas and laundry facilities.
Most of the residence halls at UW-Stevens Point were built in the 1960s, during a period of dramatic expansion of campus facilities to keep up with rising enrollment. The last of the halls to be built in that period were Watson and Thomson halls, which were opened in 1968 and 1969, respectively.
