New Residence Hall to Open in 2006

Work began in July at the site of the new $14 million residence hall on the UAMS campus.

The multi-story, roughly H-shaped facility is being built directly north of the Arkansas State Hospital on West Markham Street and is expected to be complete by fall 2006. The more than 92,000-square-foot residence hall will provide up-to-date housing for students, medical residents and other visitors as it replaces the student dormitory south of Ward Tower.

“One of the reasons for building a new residence hall at UAMS is the fact that the current student dormitory is more than 45 years old,” said Dr. Larry D. Milne, vice chancellor of Academic Affairs and Research Administration. “From its heating and cooling systems to its accommodations, the existing facility is simply out of date. Also, the planned hospital expansion will be placed on the site of the current dorm.”
 
The 177-room facility will have a mix of one-bedroom apartments, efficiency apartments and traditional dormitory-style rooms with semi-private baths. The rooms will feature computer network access and individual heating/cooling units, while the one-bedroom apartments will also include washers and dryers.

The existing student dormitory and Jeff Banks Student Union will be demolished in late 2005 or early 2006 to make room for a more than 400,000-square-foot addition to the UAMS Medical Center.