New UTC residence hall will be integral piece of Vine Street development

During the summer of 2015, ground will be broken for a new 600-bed residence hall to be built at the corner of Houston and Vine Streets.  Its doors will open onto Vine, a street ripe for development from Houston to Georgia Avenue.  The University, River City Company, and UNUM are working together to produce a thriving residential community with appealing retail establishments.  See the space, see the plans, and hear about the excitement in this video.

“The first floor of this traditional residence hall will contain ‘housing public support spaces’ including community meeting rooms, conference rooms, a dining component, and a small bookstore  (between 1,00-1,500 square feet) that will feature UTC spirit gear,” according to Ray Boaz, Partner at Derthick, Henley & Wilkerson Architects.  “A lot of glass on this first floor will provide transparency for Vine Street and a welcoming feeling.”

Under the building will be spaces for more than 600 cars on two levels of parking.

Above the first floor will be five floors of housing featuring 120 beds per floor, four 30-bed living areas with their own smaller community units with study areas. This is considered traditional housing, where four students are assigned to each suite.

“In the standard suite, there will be two bedrooms with two students each, two bathrooms, a small foyer and a place to put a small refrigerator and a microwave,” Boaz explained.

Standard suites will occupy 75 per cent of the building.  Deluxe suites will offer more space, particularly in the living area where a sofa and television can easily fit.  But Boaz says it will not be apartment-style housing.

Residents in this hall will be encouraged to build community.  UTC Student Government Association students were brought in early to the planning process to talk about ways to encourage students to get involved.

Last summer, a group of UTC students went on a field trip to see Fred D. Brown Jr. Residence Hall at the University of Tennessee Knoxville campus, the first new residence hall built on that campus in nearly forty years.  UTC students talked with students from UTK about what worked and what could be improved, according to Addee Duanchan, the SGA chair of the student advisory group.  Duanchan is also a Resident Assistant or RA in UTC Housing.  This means he facilitates the social, academic, and personal adjustment of students to the residence hall and university while enforcing the rules and policies of the Housing and Residence Life Department and UTC.

“In Knoxville, I really liked that the wall color coordinated with the RA the students had.  So say my hall is blue—then my students in the residence hall know anything coded blue would be Addee’s group, it is a clear representation,” he said.  “There was also a reusable board for each RA where all announcements were posted and students could find ways to get involved.”

SGA participation in planning the building came at the request of Timothy Johnson, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Housing and Residence Life.  Duanchan quickly understood the approach Johnson was taking.

“Tim is talking about blurring the line between what is home and what is school—I see where he’s going,” Duanchan said.  “I’ve seen this work extremely well in Stagmaier Hall, where there is a strong living-learning community.  When students from the same residence hall can take some classes together and participate in outside programs, you can quickly create more community among students.”

Johnson relishes the idea of traditional housing.  He believes it will be more comfortable for freshmen, a way to get to know more students in a learning environment.

“Classes can be held in the building.  First year studies class and other academic pursuits can be held in the building,” Johnson explained.  “This building will encourage students to eat, sleep, study and play in the same building.”

Planners say the building is scheduled to open in 2018.

The University is working hand in hand with River City Company and UNUM.  UNUM owns property on Vine between Georgia and Houston Streets.  Proposals from developers will be reviewed during the month of January for residential units to house professionals, including faculty and staff from UTC.

“We are excited about the opportunity to bring more workforce and professional housing along with first floor retail to Vine Street.  We are looking for a minimum of 200 housing units on the two UNUM parcels along with associated parking,” said Kim White, President and CEO of River City Company.

One of the exciting aspects of the design criteria is the requirement of extra wide sidewalks and first floor retail, White explains.  White says planners vision Vine Street as a great connector for downtown and students with restaurants and coffee shops.

“With the new library at one end and Georgia Avenue on the other, we see Vine Street full of activity.  It will encourage downtown workers to come engage with the University and on this corridor you will see students becoming more visible in our downtown,” White said.