University of Houston to Build New $179M Residence Hall

The University of Houston's Board of Regents has approved a new residence hall project budgeted at $179 million. The hall will accommodate 1,000 freshman students and increase campus resident capacity to around 10,000. Construction will begin next summer and is slated for completion in summer 2027. The new hall will be located on the west campus near Cullen Boulevard, adjacent to TDECU Stadium, between the Fred J. Heyne building and Cougar Woods dining commons.

This initiative is part of the university's efforts to shift from a "commuter school" image to a "primarily residential" campus, as classified by the Carnegie Foundation, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Despite no on-campus living requirement, high dorm and parking costs drive many UH students off-campus. "I was even debating [living on campus], but we looked at the dorm options and they were pretty expensive per semester," said UH student Simrah Junani, who commutes nearly 40 miles, to the Houston Chronicle.

UH Welcomes Record-Breaking Freshman Class

The new dorm approval follows the university's record-breaking freshman enrollment, with over 6,200 students in the Fall 2024 semester, marking a 10% increase. Diane Z. Chase, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, attributed this growth to the university's appealing programs.

"The size of this year's freshman class is a testament to the growing appeal of our programs," Chase said in a news release.

In fall 2022, UH had approximately 46,700 students, with 82% living off-campus, according to U.S. News & World Report. The university currently offers three freshman residence halls, three halls for upperclassmen, three apartment complexes, and one loft-style building, as listed here.

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