Ceremony marks progress of 700-bed student residence hall at FAMU
By Andrew Skerritt
FAMU Office of Communications
Construction of the 700-bed FAMU Towers is on schedule to accommodate students this fall.
Staff for the general contractor, Finfrock Construction, held a topping out ceremony at the site off Osceola Street on last Thursday. The complex includes four-story North and South towers and east and west wings. A dining hall is also being constructed as part of the project.
“I’m excited to see the progress of this vital residence hall project, FAMU Towers,” said FAMU President Larry Robinson, following a tour of the construction site. “Our students deserve top quality facilities, and we are meeting that need. Outcomes from our Living and Learning Communities in our residence halls show that students perform better academically when they reside on campus in a safe, stimulating environment. Their success is our success.”
When completed, FAMU Towers North and South will accommodate upper-class students.
Photo by St. Clair Murraine
FAMU Towers North and South will accommodate upper-class students, many of who are living in other on campus facilities. According to the Office of Housing, 400 of the 700 beds will replace beds that will be lost due to the planned closing of Paddyfote and Palmetto North. Incoming freshmen are not eligible to live in the new facility.
Other on-campus housing options include Gibbs Hall, Palmetto Street Phase III apartments, Palmetto Street South Apartments, Polkinghorne Village East and West, Sampson Hall, Truth Hall and Young Hall. Both Sampson and Young halls were renovated in recent years.
“Our students are excited about having new housing,” said Housing Director Jennifer Wilder. “The new residence hall provides amenities that our older residence halls do not have. It also helps us to stay competitive with the residence hall offerings at our peer institutions.”
The FAMU housing portal opened on November 19, 2019. Priority deadline is June 1, 2020, but assignments are made on a first-come-first-served basis, so people are encouraged to submit their housing application as soon as possible.
Once the new residence halls open, Paddyfote and Palmetto North will be demolished at a yet to be determined date tentatively during the fall 2020 semester, Wilder said.
