BOCA RATON – Florida Atlantic University’s department of housing and residential life recently hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for a new 614-bed residence hall on its Boca Raton campus. The project is scheduled to be completed in August 2013 for the start of the fall semester.
“We are extremely excited that we are breaking ground to build another wonderful housing facility for our students,” said Charles Brown, Ph.D., senior vice president for student affairs. “The construction of this residence hall will allow us to house more students on campus and continue our effort to create a vibrant campus life experience for all of our students.”
The seven-story building, totaling nearly 190,000 square feet, will house freshmen and contain 400 single rooms and 200 double rooms in four-person suites. Each furnished suite will contain two bathrooms shared between the four residents. Amenities include unlimited building-wide Wi-Fi access, two-story floor study lounges, classroom space, conference room, computer lab, fitness center, laundry facilities and retail dining space.
The facility is on track to qualify for gold level certification in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system of the U.S. Green Building Council.
The new residence hall will include FAU’s first Faculty-in-Residence program, with a faculty member living in the building and teaching in its classroom space. There will also be administrative offices and live-in professional staff accommodations.
The $46 million project, funded by the sale of bonds that are secured by student housing fees to build and run the facility, is a joint venture of architects PGAL/SSI and construction team Cummings-Balfour Beatty. FAU is primarily responsible for leasing, marketing, student programming and residential life, while C-BB Management is responsible for property management and physical operations for this and all housing buildings on the Boca Raton campus.