New Residence Hall to Feature Single Bedrooms and Sustainable Construction
NJIT's new 500-bed apartment-style residence hall, announced early this year for the southwest corner of Warren and Wickliff streets, will emphasize single-occupancy bedrooms and will be constructed with environmentally-friendly methods.
The community is scheduled for its groundbreaking in the second quarter of 2021 and opening in fall 2022. A name is not yet selected. It's temporarily called Vue on Warren in a slide show from the developer.
"The project's design fits the existing built fabric of the campus. It should provide amenities that I think our students will appreciate," said Branko Kolarevic, dean of Hillier College of Architecture and Design, who is on the project’s steering committee. It will offer bicycle storage, parking, a game room, creative space, lounge space, a grass courtyard and indoor and outdoor cafes.
The location is currently home to the former Warren Street School, which NJIT acquired in December 2019. Warren Street High School was built in 1892 by local architecture firm O'Rourke, which was known for government buildings and Catholic churches. A fire damaged much of the school's interior in summer 2019. But the building's well-known exterior archway remained intact and will be placed inside the new hall, Kolarevic noted, along with a timeline or other exhibits honoring the history of local public schools, added Jeremy Doss, senior vice president of Valdosta, Ga.-based RISE Real Estate, which is serving as the turnkey developer and overseeing the design.
It's a sign of the times that the majority of bedrooms will be single-occupancy, not only due to modern health concerns but also as a unique amenity rarely found in urban universities where construction space is limited. Double-occupancy bedrooms will also be available to offer a lower price point and will still be designed and furnished for social distancing guidelines, Doss said. Restrooms will either be private or shared by more than two residents. The building will be the least-dense residence hall at NJIT, he added.
Moreover, "It's going to be sustainable-minded construction," Doss explained. Precast concrete allows construction to proceed in a Lego-like manner, with all casting done off-site, and then delivered and assembled piece-by-piece. This method minimizes waste and maximizes construction efficiency. Terminal Construction of Woodbridge, NJ will serve as the general contractor under RISE. That company will use paints and finishes made from low-volatile organic compounds, which means it'll smell better and release fewer gasses than traditional materials. There will also be low-flow water systems, while the exterior illumination will be arranged to minimize upward light pollution. Also, materials will be purchased regionally whenever possible to help the economy and reduce shipping pollution.
Student body President Anuj Patel, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, lives in the Albert Dorman Honors College residence hall — NJIT's current newest hall which opened in 2013 — and said the student senate was briefed on most of the plans last year.
"Typically, every year the residence halls are filled to maximum capacity so the need for more is evident," Patel said. "Overall, as a senate, we think it's a great way to expand the campus and offer more spaces for students."
Patel said only Oak Hall has kitchen spaces, so that amenity along with single rooms will be attractive for many students.
RISE is working with NJIT in a public-private partnership. Doss explained that such partnerships are part of a trend where universities partner with specialists who can work quickly using private financing, while keeping the public entity closely involved in design and then in ongoing operations.
RISE has developed student housing in 25 states with more than 52,000 beds since 1995. Locally, they led a similar public-private partnership with New Jersey City University in 2016. Nationally, they led more than 80 campus residence projects at schools such as Louisiana State University and the University of Georgia.
