While the University of Wyoming considered renovating the current dormitories, they ultimately decided that it would be more cost-effective to create new ones.
“Renovation of the existing halls was explored during the housing master planning phase,” Matthew Newman, the Director of Planning and Design, said. “An assessment indicated that the cost of renovation to bring existing halls up to current building and energy code standards would have been comparable to that of new construction.”
Newman said that in addition to costs being relatively the same, the current residence halls do not meet the contemporary standards set forth by the 2020 Master Plan.
“Contemporary standards refer to the learning, living community model of student housing that has proven to enhance student retention and success,” Newman said.
“The new halls will include multi-purpose classrooms, study and floor lounges, tutoring spaces, community kitchens, community living rooms, and even game rooms,” Newman said. “These new dorms will also provide multiple types of student rooms including a percentage of semi-suite style configurations which include restrooms.”
While the new style of the North and South residence halls, as well as a dining hall, a transit stop, and 8.5 acres of new landscaping, may promote a happier and healthier learning environment for students, it will cost approximately $200M.
Construction of the new residence halls is scheduled to begin in November of this year, with the completion date set for the spring of 2025. Kim Zafft, the Interim Housing Director said that this means an overlap of facility maintenance will occur.
“Our priorities will change, and we won’t be focused as much on our deferred maintenance plan and instead how to improve the student experience,” Zafft said.
The deferred maintenance plan refers to how the Housing and Residence Life Department allocates funding from student contracts to upkeep facilities including but not limited to utility management, renovations, and even staff training.
However, Zafft said that this overlap will be an opportunity to cater to both first-year students and encourage upperclassmen to stay with the university.
“We honestly don’t have a finalized plan for all of these halls, but in the interim, we will probably look at ways to attract new enrollments,” Kim Zafft, the Interim Housing Director, said. “We might even look at different ways to provide housing opportunities for upperclassmen.”
Zafft also said that improving student satisfaction and experience is one of the university’s many goals, especially since the new dormitories will provide students better access to campus amenities such as Coe Library, Half Acre Gymnasium, Student Health, and the Wyoming Union.
“We have to take things one step at a time,” Zafft said. “Once we get these new halls up and running, we will see how they change the student experience.”
As a requirement, all first-year students at the University of Wyoming must live in the dorms. This not only encourages students to build social networks, but allows them to have a relatable experience to their peers, upperclassmen, and even professors.
“I know a lot of upperclassmen who do look back at freshman year and appreciate it,” Candace Konija, a pre-Pharmacy major, said. “A lot of them say dorm life was one of their favorite parts of their college career.”
Although Konija only lived in the dorms at the height of COVID-19, she said that it was an experience she’s grateful for.
“It was a little thing, but, in McIntyre, my entire floor would get together and go to The Cowboy to dance on Wednesdays,” Konija said. “Even before we would go downtown, we would practice in the lobby downstairs.”
