A $219.6 million housing transformation project is underway on the University of Oregon’s main campus, which will include three new residence halls and a large green space when completed. Two of the oldest dorms, Hamilton and Walton halls, will be completely torn down and replaced by the new buildings by August 2024.
Hamilton was constructed in the early 1960s and Walton in the late 1950s, and Housing Director Michael Griffel said the renovation is coming at an ‘incredibly exciting time” for UO.
“The university is internationally an exceptional school, and the undergraduate experience is really an important part of this university,” Griffel said. “Living on campus contributes significantly to students doing well in school academically, to staying in school, to graduating more quickly.”
The project is primarily being funded by UO’s internal bank, from which the university borrows dollars and eventually pays them back through room and board fees.
UO is currently Phase 1 of the project, with the construction of Building A costing approximately $80 million. The residence hall will open in Fall 2021, complete with 695 beds, a Pacific Northwest Market with nine dining venues and the university’s prospective student recruitment and welcome center.
Griffel said the welcome center will give prospective students a “really great flavor” of the university through presentations, walking tours and a virtual reality tour of the campus. The $9.6 million welcome center is separately funded from the rest of the project but will still be located inside Building A.
Phase 2 includes the construction of Buildings B and C, and will cost an estimated $120 million. Building B will be almost identical to Building A, but with 705 rooms and a mail and package room instead of dining venues. Both buildings will offer single, double and triple rooms with bathrooms inside of each bedroom. Building C will be a 400-bed residence hall filled with small studio bedrooms for sophomores, juniors and seniors.
Phase 3 is the $10 million demolition of Hamilton and the construction of a new green space on the southeast corner of 13th and Agate. The green space will replace Humpy Lumpy Lawn, the green space between Hamilton and Global Scholars Hall that students used for ultimate frisbee and studying.
“It’s going to be very multipurpose,” Griffel said. “There will be some humps and lumps, or undulations, in it. It’s still under design, but we hope that there will be tabling events, large gatherings, the ability to do any number of festivals, activities and Hamstock. It’s much larger than Humpy Lumpy.”
Griffel said the housing team is hoping to start scheduling tours in mid-April of this year so students can see a sample room of where they will be living this fall. The building, however, will not be completed until August.
Vice President for Student Services and Enrollment Management Roger Thompson said the housing team is trying to “create a buffet” of opportunities for students so they have plenty of housing options to choose from.
“This has been a really good collaborative team effort,” Thompson said. “It’s really going to change that whole corner with the new Hayward and eventually Buildings B and A.”
