UT to Complete Demolition of Old Residence Hall

The University of Tampa has announced it will demolish the remaining two wings of the 30-year-old ResCom residence hall and will break ground immediately on a new residence hall in its place.

The demolition will begin the week of May 9.

The southern wing of ResCom, which faced North A Street on campus, was demolished in 2014 to make way for the first phase of Palm Apartments, which opened in January 2015.

After demolition of the remaining two wings of ResCom, which face Brevard Avenue and Spaulding Drive, phase two of Palm Apartments will begin. The new nine- and 10-story wings will join with the existing Palm Apartments building. The overall footprint will be similar to the original ResCom configuration, with a courtyard within the three wings.

The new wings will be similar in style to the current Palm Apartments, with the latest in university campus amenities. Each room will be suite-style with a common living room, kitchen, bathroom and four single rooms. All rooms will be cable and network ready. Each floor will also include laundry facilities as well as meeting and study spaces. The main lobby will also have student gathering spaces, a game room and a large outside gathering area in the courtyard just outside the main lobby space.

The new, 252,618 square-foot hall will be fully completed for occupancy in August 2017.

The site will also feature abundant landscaping, including the replacement and addition of mature trees that will line Spaulding Drive and Brevard Avenue.

Once the entire $55-million project is completed, the Palm Apartments complex will house approximately 660 students — making it UT’s largest residence hall — as compared to ResCom’s original 234 total occupancy.

"Palm Apartments has proven to be a popular residence hall,” said Ronald L. Vaughn, UT president. “And Phase II will enlarge our residential campus and provide students with another exemplary on-campus living situation that will augment their academic and co-curricular experiences.”

Palm Apartments in its entirety represents the eighth new residence hall built under the leadership of President Vaughn. The campus’ physical growth comes as a result of significant enrollment expansion that has quadrupled over the last 19 years to 8,037 students. The University has already invested approximately $460 million in new construction since 1997, and this project will push the total to more than $500 million in completed construction.

The Palm Apartments complex is located toward the center of campus, between Brevard Hall and the Thomas Parking Garage.

Design Styles Architecture is the architect, and Crossroads Construction has been named to execute the demolition and build the new residence hall.