The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga ceremonially broke ground on a new residence hall Monday, which university leaders hope will help alleviate a housing crunch on campus.
The Oak Street Residence Hall, which is expected to be completed by fall 2027, will include beds for 794 students.
As the university works to meet the UT System’s goal for UTC to enroll 14,800 students by 2030, UTC officials said the new residence hall was critical for achieving that target and providing students with an experience that sets the campus apart. Chancellor Lori Mann Bruce has set a personal goal of enrolling 15,000 students.
“I know that it is an ambitious goal,” she said during the groundbreaking ceremony. “It’s a stretch goal for us, but I think it’s attainable. It’s not just a number. … We’re aiming at people, and we believe in the power of higher education. We believe in the product that UTC has to offer, and we want as many people to benefit from that as possible.”
This past fall, UTC welcomed its largest student body in school history with 11,834 students.
UTC breaks ground on 794-bed residence hall
The university wants to be able to offer housing to all students who request it, Bruce said. UTC currently has around 3,700 beds, she said, and receives more than 5,000 housing applications each year. Over 1,200 students were on the waiting list this past fall.
“We have students right now who want to be on campus, in campus housing, and we have a limited supply,” Bruce said in an interview. “When you know you have a wait list, you know you have a great product. They’re getting a good experience.”
The close to 800 new beds will boost the UTC’s housing supply, but there’s always more to do, she said. Bruce, who began her tenure as chancellor three weeks ago, said she would be attending her first campus master planning meeting Monday afternoon.
She anticipates the planned enrollment growth will include students who don’t typically live on campus, such as dual enrollment and online students, meaning the increased student population won’t directly correlate to an equal demand for on-campus housing.
The new residence hall is being built on the site that once housed Frist Hall, located between McCallie Avenue and Oak Street. It will feature double-occupancy rooms, common spaces for studying and club meetings, and a pedestrian corridor that links both sides of campus, according to a press release.
Every aspect of the student experience was discussed in the program and design of the residence hall, said Artanya Wesley, vice chancellor for enrollment management and student affairs.
“I want them to see themselves in this space, feel comfortable and really have the opportunity to connect and engage with each other … but also have an opportunity to focus on their academics in this building,” she said in an interview.
The $114 million project is being led by Tinker Ma, a Chattanooga-based architecture firm.
Bridgette Greene, the student government association’s vice president, is living on campus for a third year. Campus housing is where she met many of her friends, she said, and she hopes future students who live in this new dorm will have the same experience she did.
As an orientation leader a year ago, she said it was incredible to see freshmen students’ reaction when they realized where they were living. It’s something she wants to continue.
“I’m really, really excited to see how the upcoming freshmen feel about it,” Greene said in an interview. “I just want to see their faces light up and be like, ‘Wow, this is home. This is not just my dorm, this is home.'”
Contact education reporter Shannon Coan at scoan@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6396.