http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2017/08/06/two-new-residence-halls/530075001/
There are plenty of reasons they’re no longer called dorms.
Take, for instance, Azalea Hall, one of two new residence halls Florida State University opens to students returning to campus in a few weeks.
The six-story brick-featured building allows students to leave their suites on the top five levels to gather on the first floor, overlooking “1851,” a 24,000-square-foot micro-dining area on the ground level featuring four restaurants and a convenience store.
The first-floor includes a spacious lounging area, a Speed Queen-equipped laundry facility, study rooms, meeting places and staff offices.
A few students were playing table tennis, oblivious to the visitors streaming through one afternoon last week.
The colorful stuffed chairs and loveseat-seat sized sofas, dark wood paneling and amenities are designed to cater to the needs of today’s students.
“The whole intent of building this building this way was it would look like home,” said Shannon Staten, FSU’s executive director of university housing.
Azalea Hall, which can house 433, opened June 21 for students attending summer school. The dining area is expected to open Aug. 28.
Next to Azalea, final touches are being completed on the new Magnolia Hall, which features similar amenities, minus the ground-floor culinary experience. It can house 479 students.
The semester cost per student ranges from $3,100 to nearly $3,900.
Located off Jefferson Street near Woodward, FSU's newest residence halls cost about $27 million each to construct.
They are built on space once occupied by Deviney and Dorman, which were rebuilt nearby and opened in 2015. The university tried to repurpose items from the old halls to carry over some history and be more sustainable. For instance, countertops in the laundry room at Azalea and Magnolia are re-purposed marble from the shower stalls in the old Deviney and Dorman buildings.
Collectively, the four residence halls represent an investment of more than $100 million in new student housing.
With an estimated 6,800 students living on campus, all rooms are taken, Staten said.
The halls offer plenty of openness, with room for students to study, engage, mingle and eat, rather than being confined in an institutional-like setting.
“We try not to have long hallways that don’t break up into small sections,” Staten said. “We want students to feel like they live in smaller communities and not on long hallways like in the older halls.”
There are four students per suite, two bedrooms each that come with adjustable beds, dressers, chairs, desks and a refrigerator. There’s a sink in each room, but a single shower and toilet per suite.
“I like it a lot,” said Sam Kao, an 18-year-old freshman from Orlando. “It’s convenient to all of my classes, the dining halls, CVS.”
The concept of adding the food area to Azalea Hall grew out of the need to bring various menu options to the central part of campus and to create an urban housing-retail splash on campus.
1851 will offer Noles' Homecoming (comfort food); Passport (International/Healthy); J Street Grille (American Grill); Tuscan Eatery (Tuscan/Hearth Oven) and The Canteen, a convenience store/coffee shop.
The 1851 collection is an example of the new choices in food services offered by Sodexo, which inked a 10-year dining services contract with FSU in February.
The food court fronts Jefferson Street, which is home to several Greek houses. It will be open to the public and likely will offer late-night hours. A sidewalk has been built leading from the street entrance to the residence halls, which are staffed day and night. Entrances feature video cameras. The FSU police station is next door.
“It’s designed to become a gateway into campus from Jefferson Street,” Staten said. “The four buildings were designed with courtyards to make it open for everybody, students, faculty, but the residence halls are locked.”
Students can opt for purchasing meals right below their rooms, but those on meal plans are more likely to eat at the iconic Suwannee Room or other campus options. Sodexo is bringing in new food offerings throughout FSU’s campus.
Kitchens are provided on each floor for those who prefer to cook their own meals.
“We’ve never built a dining facility within the residence hall,” Staten said. “We wanted it to be open as a concept. The dining can serve faculty and students. It can serve the Greek (houses) all up and down the street.”
The rise of the two new residence halls represents an upgrade in on-campus student living, Staten said, noting details such as outlets for smartphone chargers and laptops built into the lounge furniture.
“I think we are providing students with a quality place to live,” she said. “It gives students a living experience that makes them successful.”
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