UTSA breaks ground on freshman dorm to enhance campus experience

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A YEAR-END SERIES OF ARTICLES ABOUT UTSA'S BOLD FUTURE

Dec. 19, 2019 — Editor’s note: This initiative supports and accelerates UTSA’s 10-year vision to become a model for student success, a great public research university and an exemplar for strategic growth and innovative excellence. [First published Jan. 29, 2019]

UTSA has cleared the next hurdle to build a new residence hall on its Main Campus. Today, the University of Texas System Board of Regents approved the design development for Guadalupe Hall, UTSA’s newest living and learning community for freshman. Today’s approval paves the way for the project team to take the next steps in the construction process.

According to the UTSA Office of Institutional Research, UTSA first-generation freshmen who live on campus have a retention rate of 83 percent, compared to 72 percent for first-generation students who live off campus. Also, among UTSA freshman who are at-risk, those who live on campus have a retention rate of 74 percent compared to 63 percent for the same group who live off campus.

“We appreciate the Regents’ recognition that students who live on campus are more successful than those who live off campus.”

—VERONICA MENDEZ, UTSA Vice President for Business Affairs

“We appreciate the Regents’ recognition that students who live on campus are more successful than those who live off campus as well as their support in helping UTSA develop more on-campus housing to enable academic excellence,” said Veronica Mendez, UTSA vice president for business affairs. “This new living-learning community will go a long way toward further supporting student success, especially among our freshman and first-generation student populations.”

Guadalupe Hall will be designed with a focus on student success and enhancing the campus experience. The 372-bed residence hall will feature affordable double occupancy rooms, which have repeatedly been shown by researchers to promote retention and social skills development. The four-story building will feature study lounges, an academic resource center, community lounges, community kitchens, laundry rooms, group study areas, a multipurpose/seminar room and a coffee shop.

Located at the southwest corner of Brenan Ave. and Tobin Ave. in the heart of UTSA’s residential district on the Main Campus, Guadalupe Hall will be in a prime location near Roadrunner Café and close to many other campus amenities geared toward student success.

“We specifically designed Guadalupe Hall to be an integrated living and learning community with group study areas in multiple locations and multipurpose space to give students more opportunities to engage faculty and staff. Those are vital elements in helping students thrive,” said Kimberly Andrews Espy, UTSA Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. “Success in college translates to being workforce ready and successful in a global economy. That’s what our students expect from a college education and that is why it is so important that we foster these types of living/learning experiences for them from day one.”

⇒ Read about UTSA’s housing initiatives to enhance student success.

Additionally, earlier this week, UTSA announced organizational changes to its Student Affairs area to enhance student support initiatives. That includes aligning the Residence Life team, which provides programming to students who live on campus to help them develop a sense of belonging, to the Dean of Students for more seamless collaboration.

As part of the UT System’s Capital Improvement Program, the UT System Board of Regents  this week also authorized the projected cost of $43.6 million for the project, of which $38.6 million will come from the Revenue Financing System. The remaining funds will come from UTSA reserves.

Last month, Alamo Architects, in partnership with Treanor HL, was named as the lead to design Guadalupe Hall. Additionally, Intelligent Engineering Services, Shah Smith and Pape-Dawson will serve as engineers for the project and Whiting-Turner as the Construction Manager at-Risk.

The project team will spend the remainder of the summer completing final construction documents. Construction of Guadalupe Hall is slated to begin in fall 2019 with Guadstudents expected to move into the 101,351 gross-square-foot structure before the fall 2021 semester, raising the number of UTSA students living on campus to 4,508.

This is just the beginning in a series of new housing developments planned for the Main and Downtown Campuses as UTSA prepares for enrollment growth of 45,000 by 2028. The Honors Residential College, an interactive, vibrant living/learning community for UTSA Honors College students, is also in the planning stages. Plans for a new mixed-use neighborhood called Roadrunner Village will include housing for faculty, staff and upper-class students. UTSA is also making plans for Cattleman’s Square Residential Tower, a high rise housing option to serve the Downtown Campus community.

— Courtney Clevenger

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