A lake view

Artist's rendering of Lakeview Residence Hall.

Construction on the first new residence hall in more than 25 years got underway this fall as the initial phase of a campus-wide upgrade of student housing.

Lakeview Residence Hall will overlook Westhampton Lake adjacent to Marsh, Wood and Thomas halls. The four-story structure will provide 141 beds in a mixture of four- and three-bed suites and single rooms. Each floor will have laundry facilities and community living rooms, and the first floor will feature a large multipurpose room, kitchen, computer lab and group-study space. Lakeview is scheduled for completion in December 2007.

During the next six to seven years, Jeter, Freeman, North Court, Thomas and Robins residence halls will be renovated into either suite- or apartment-style configurations, said University Architect Andrew McBride. The goal is to place first-year students in traditional dorms, moving them to suites for their sophomore and junior years and apartments for their senior year.