After a $1.7 million renovation, Kirby-Smith Hall is open for the first time since 2006, providing 350 students with residence on campus.
The 45-year-old residence hall’s first seven floors have been renovated and now include new carpet and ceiling tiles, freshly painted walls, retiled bathrooms and movable furniture, among other improvements, said Residential Life Director Steve Waller.
The project, which gained approval Aug. 29, 2010, finished ahead of schedule and under budget, Waller said.
The renovation plan was approved after last year’s record housing requests produced the longest wait list in University history.
The wait list for fall housing is empty, and 225 more students were afforded on-campus housing this fall than in 2010, bringing the total number of on-campus residents this semester to nearly 6,000.
For the first time in Kirby-Smith’s history, it will house female and male students.
Though University officials have often criticized the building’s cramped floor plan and pointedly unadorned facade, Waller said students do not share their distaste.
“Students self-selected Kiby- Smith. Within 36 hours, Kirby-Smith was full,” Waller said.
Rhett Pritchard, mass communication freshman, said he chose Kirby-Smith because it was newly renovated and he preferred the suite bathroom floor plan to the hall bathrooms found in other residence halls.
Anna Evans, biology freshman, said her first impression of her new room was that it was more spacious than she had expected and that she appreciated the new carpet and furniture. Evans said the only negative aspect is the location.
“I would recommend it to a friend,” Evans said, “Just bring a