“We’ve done this because the students need it,” Dean of Student Life Sam Smith said. “The university needs it for when we’re recruiting and students come to our campus and then they go to Belmont and they go to Vanderbilt.
“We needed a facility that would make a ‘wow statement’ for them, and High Rise will be that building,” Smith said.
10 rooms have been eliminated to add to the main level lobby and expand common area on some of the floors. The common area expansions on the third, seventh and eighth floors will include sitting areas, conference rooms and study rooms.
“We’ve taken a big shot at increasing the community space in High Rise,” Smith said. “We don’t want students to just live there, we want them to enjoy being there and have time to be around people they want to be around, people that they want to be with, for it to feel like home while they’re here.”
In addition to expanding lobbies, the closets of each room have been removed and will be replaced with wardrobes. This will increase room space and allow residents more freedom to arrange their rooms in a way that suits them.
The bathrooms will be redone with changing stalls attached to the showers to make the spaces more private despite being community restrooms.
“I am very excited about the renovation,” High Rise Resident Hall Director Mike Smith said. “The extra community space will give residents more space to gather and socialize. The upgrades to the bathrooms and showers will be very much appreciated by the residents.”
The HVAC is being renovated to be functional, and the elevators are being completely rebuilt.
According to Sam Smith, there are tentative plans to install a full kitchen in High Rise that residents, RAs and staff can use for programming and events.
The last renovation was in 2000, but that was less extensive.
The current renovation began in early May and is expected to take a total of 92 days with furniture being installed around August 4 according to Smith, who said the construction is on and possibly ahead of schedule.
Photos by Erin Turner