New Halls Add to South Campus

Click here to take a virtual tour of the new South Campus dorms

When junior Andrew Pike applied to live in Hinton James North Residence Hall, he had no idea what to expect.

"I wasn't too nervous, just excited for something new and different," he said.

And after an entire summer of waiting, Pike saw his new home for the first time Friday. "It's a nicer place because everything is new and there are a ton more people down here now," he said.

From the regal wood-paneled lobby to the indoor hallways, not much is similar about the four new South Campus halls -- which totaled $47 million -- and their neighboring high-rises.

So far unnamed, the residence halls -- Hinton James North, Morrison South, Craige North and Ehringhaus South -- are designated in relation to their sister halls.

Other differentiating characteristics of the new residence halls include bigger rooms with movable furniture and private bathrooms for each two-room suite.

The halls also accommodate three to four in-house classrooms and a faculty office on the first floor.

Rick Bradley, assistant director of marketing for the Department of Housing and Residential Education, said these features are key to establishing a "learning and living environment."

"Incorporating classrooms into the residence halls is one of our goals and something the students asked for too," he said.

The four halls are the first new residence halls on campus since Carmichael Residence Hall opened 20 years ago. As part of the campus Master Plan outlining long-term campus growth, the halls are designed to create a new atmosphere on South Campus.

"We are trying to create that North Campus feeling," Bradley said.

The extra 960 beds also will help relieve a housing shortage that has forced some students to live in hall lounges in past years.

With the new attitude, the new halls were hot commodities last spring during the housing recontracting process. Preference was given to students who endured the construction of the new halls while living on South Campus.

After the first assignments, the rest of the spaces were made available to other South Campus residents, and they showed up in hoards and camped out overnight in line to reserve their rooms.

Sophomore Lucas Hammonds, who camped out last spring, said the efforts were worth the reward. "It's so much better than last year," said Hammonds, who lived in Ehringhaus previously.

Many residents gave the new halls rave reviews, said Katie Toth, residence director at Ehringhaus South.

Bradley also heard positive evaluations but received a few complaints too. "Some students were concerned about the bathroom tiling," he said. "It's Duke blue."

The University Editor can be reached udesk@unc.edu.