Renovated Freeman Hall will house women

BY HOLLY RODRIGUEZ
Media & Public Relations Officer

When the renovated Freeman Hall opens in August, undergraduate women will move into a residence hall that traditionally has housed men.

The building will have 86 beds, down from 105, says Joan Lachowski, director of undergraduate student housing.

“While doing construction, we have to shift our residents around some, so next year, women will be in Freeman,” she says.

Renovations to Freeman are similar in design to Gray Court, Lachowski says. Work began earlier this year, when Lakeview became the new home of Freeman residents at the beginning of spring semester.

The 25,000-square-foot building is being reconfigured from a traditional hall, with double occupancy rooms and a bathroom at the end of each hall, to suite-style design. Double rooms will be paired with either a single- or double room and shared bathroom.

Other features will include larger, central lounge areas, a kitchenette on the first floor, a small computer lounge on the third floor and laundry facilities on the first and third floors. While renovation will create major changes, one signature feature of the dorm will remain.

“The students really like the bay windows,” Lachowski says. “So, we’ll be keeping those.”

No exterior changes are planned.

John Hoogakker, associate vice president for facilities, says the construction plans and basic amenities for the dorm are following eco-friendly guidelines to qualify for LEED certification.

“We’re re-using building materials and installing systems to conserve energy through climate-controlled thermostats and low-energy lighting systems,” he says.

In 1964, groundbreaking for the three-story, Collegiate Gothic building took place during a time of campus expansion. Freeman was the fourth residence hall built in a period of nine years to accommodate steadily increasing enrollment and residential students. The renovation is updating the dorm to better accommodate student needs.

“This renovation is part of an overall housing redevelopment plan,” Hoogakker says.
While Jeter was next in line for renovation, plans have been put on hold because of other pending construction projects.

“We’ll have First Market Stadium, the new Westhampton Center, the Carole Weinstein International Center and the new Robins School of Business wing going on for the ’08–’09 school year, so there are no plans for housing renovation next year,” Lachowski says.