Feb. 27, 2008

CONTACT:
Liz Babiarz
404-413-1356
University Relations

Georgia State breaks ground on new student housing projects

ATLANTA – Georgia State University is kicking off two housing projects this week that will provide more on-campus living choices for students and bring additional vibrancy to downtown Atlanta.

University officials will come together for a groundbreaking ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 28) at the corner of Edgewood and Piedmont avenues, the site of the new Freshman Hall and Special Interest Student Housing.

The projects should be completed by fall 2009 and will bring the university closer to its goal of having 20 percent of students living on campus by 2015.

“It’s another exciting chapter for us,” said Douglass Covey, Georgia State’s vice president of student affairs. “The Freshmen Hall will give our students more of a community-living atmosphere, which is good for making friends and networking, and the Special Interest Housing will provide Georgia State’s first residence experience for fraternities and sororities.”

The Freshmen Hall will be able to accommodate 325 to 350 students in two-bedroom units with a shared bathroom. Each floor will have lounge space, and a dining hall – Georgia State’s first cafeteria style facility – will be located on the ground floor. The Freshmen Hall, including also a mail facility and laundry room, will total 102,000 square feet.

Georgia State’s 24 Greek organizations are excited about the opportunity to live on campus. The Special Interest Student Housing will consist of nine three-story town homes with varying capacity, for a total of 145 beds. Each town home will also include a student activity center and a laundry facility.

The groundbreaking of the Freshmen Hall and Special Interest Housing comes less than a year after Georgia State opened the University Commons at Piedmont Avenue and Ellis Street, a 4.2-acre complex of four apartment buildings that house about 2,000 students.

Atlanta-based Cooper Carry Architects and Juneau Construction Co. will work on the Freshmen Hall project, while Carleston Sanford of Atlanta is designing the Special Interest Student Housing.

Covey will host Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony and President Carl Patton will be the featured speaker.

Students from Greek organizations and the Freshmen Learning Communities, as well as officials from the Division of Student Affairs will attend.

Off-campus guests and media are directed to park in the M Deck, at the corner of Gilmer Street and Piedmont Avenue.

What: Georgia State breaks ground on two new student housing projects
When: 2:30 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 28)
Where: The corner of Edgewood and Piedmont avenues