The renovation of Loose Hall, the largest residence hall in South Campus, is scheduled to be complete by June 2025 and will be available during room selection in April, Dennis Perkins, assistant dean of Residence Life, told The S&B. Loose is currently undergoing external renovation, internal remodeling and refurbishment.
In a written statement, Christi Baker, Facilities Management project management coordinator said that Loose Hall is being fitted with a new heat, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC). Last summer, pipes were laid between Eighth Ave. and Main Hall to connect existing HVAC systems on campus and to provide pathways for air conditioning to be placed in Loose. This upgrade provides future connections for other residential halls located on South Campus. Further exterior changes to Loose Hall include landscaping, new water drainage and the installation of an accessibility ramp on the east side of the building.
The student residence hall is also being repainted, provided with brand new windows and getting its masonry polished. Inside the building, all student rooms, hallways and common areas are receiving new furniture, flooring, lighting and ceilings. Restrooms will be updated with new fixtures and tiles, and an elevator is being installed in the building’s center.
The configuration of some rooms is also undergoing changes. Two new suite-style rooms with one double bedroom and two single bedrooms are being created on the second and third floors on the hall’s south side. The large student lounge on the first floor is getting its woodwork refined and provided with a new, larger kitchen. Adjacent to the central lounge, a Residence Life Coordinator (RLC) apartment, a Community Advisor (CA) workspace and guest bathrooms are being added. The laundry rooms and study rooms in the basement will retain their configuration but undergo the same renovations as the rest of Loose Hall.
Unlike Norris Hall, which upon its renovation became a first year-only residence hall, Loose will be available for the entire student body of the College. Perkins said, “The only thing that we might play with is to have one of the floors be sub [substance] free.” No further limitations to the availability of the renovated dorm are planned.
However, the wide accessibility of the renovated dorm is expected to generate a high student demand, which is why Perkins stresses the importance of the fair distribution of the rooms. He said he is particularly concerned about fairness towards first year students, since room selection is a top-to-bottom process based on class seniority.
“I think that first years also deserve an opportunity for some of them to live in nice spaces too. It shouldn’t just be for the upper-class type of student.”
Perkins said that ResLife will reserve spaces for all year groups during the general room selection process.
In response to whether the renovation of Loose Hall caused more forced triple rooms during the 2024-25 academic year, Perkins expressed the commitment of ResLife to minimizing this practice. “Students are wanting to be off campus, and one of the arguments they use against us is that, ‘Why am I not off campus when you’ve forced me to live in a place that should be a double, but it’s a triple.’ We don’t want that.” The rooms with elevated ceilings on the third floor of East residence halls are expected to remain triples for first-year students.
The initiative for the renovation of student residence halls began two years ago, starting with the renovation of Norris Hall in 2022. Loose Hall was chosen as the next in line for renovations. As of now, there has been no information released to the public on the planned renovation of other residence halls.
