The University of North Texas at Dallas campus celebrated the groundbreaking of its first residence hall August 25, 2016, a milestone signifying the university’s continued growth. The residence hall will welcome its first students in Fall 2017.

The 27,000 square foot, 120-bed facility will include 12 double-occupancy rooms and 96 single-occupancy rooms, as well as ample study space, a kitchen, social area, multi-purpose space for classes and workshops, and a workout facility. Each of the four floors will be staffed by a resident advisor.

UNT System Chancellor Lee Jackson, Senator Royce West, Representative Helen Giddings, and District 8 Councilman and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Erik Wilson delivered remarks at the groundbreaking.

“Today represents a great moment in the life of this university,” said UNT Dallas President Bob Mong. “Our mission, vision, and goals are resonating with the community. Our commitment to relevance and student-first service is resonating, as evidenced by a fall enrollment that will likely top 3,000 students. Thank you to everyone who has made this building and this growth possible.”

Chancellor Jackson praised the project as a powerful statement of all the university hopes to become, and a worthy investment that will pay dividends for years to come. Senator West and Representative Giddings echoed Jackson’ sentiments, and reiterated the impact UNT Dallas is having on the southern Dallas area.

“It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a great city, a great district, to raise up a university like UNT Dallas,” Wilson said. “This building will not only foster networking, and experiences that deepen a student’s college experience, it will bring students to UNT Dallas for summer camps and sports clinics that might never have stepped foot on a college campus. It will serve to deepen the university’s roots in this community.”

The addition of the residence hall is the first of two new buildings being constructed on campus. The Student Access and Success Center will open in Fall 2018, as well as an outdoor amphitheater. This new construction coupled with the opening of the UNT Dallas Blue Line DART rail station in October 2016, is evidence of how the university is realizing the dream that West and others have long envisioned.

For more information on the residence hall, visit www.untdallas.edu/reslife.