Alan Hargrave, director of Housing and Residence Life, predicts the 506 student spaces in the soon-to-be completed Park Residence Hall will go fast during the first week of room sign-up next month.
"I think [Park Hall] is an incredibly beautiful building that addresses what students told us they wanted," Hargrave said. "There are great places in the building for student interactions - that was designed intentionally. Student rooms provide more space, the views are terrific, the design is beautiful and I really think students will enjoy living there very much."
Construction on Park Hall began in May 2005 and is scheduled for completion in August. The residence hall is named after Don Park, special assistant to the president and vice president emeritus for University Advancement, for his dedication to Ball State University.
Hargrave led a handful of students on a tour of Park Hall on Tuesday.
Student Government Association President Asher Lisec, who went on the tour, said she was impressed by how different Park Hall is from other residence halls at Ball State.
"I felt like I was walking into a residence hall unlike anything I've seen on campus," Lisec said. "It really looks like a hotel in there, and even though I've already signed my lease to live off campus, I was ready to move in."
Park Hall has four stories of living space and will provide students with amenities such as central air and heating, two-story lobbies, high ceilings and an open floor plan.
Each floor will have a study lounge and trash chutes that empty into a bin on the main floor to eliminate the presence of dumpsters, Hargrave said. The hallways will be carpeted and the rooms and bathrooms will be tiled, he said.
An exercise room will be located next to the laundry room on the main floor, George Edwards, associate director of Housing and Residence Life, said.
The two-story lobbies will be shared between floors: one for the first and second floors and another for the third and fourth floors. Each two-story lobby will feature a kitchenette, a gas fireplace with a plasma-screen television above the mantle, a two-story window and lounge seating, Hargrave said. Electrical outlets and other hookups for the plasma television will be located on the floor, instead of the on television, for easy access.
Lisec said Housing and Residence Life made sure students had a voice planning Park Hall by getting input from organizations like Cardinal Leadership Roundtable, Residence Hall Association and SGA.
"One of the biggest things I heard from students was openness," she said. "They wanted to get away from just a normal residence hall little room. They wanted openness, they wanted group living space, they wanted to feel comfortable, they wanted to feel at home and I think from the outside architecture to the two-story study lounges that they really were able to answer our needs."
As for the student rooms, studio apartment-style living quarters, with a kitchenette, a bathroom and living and sleeping space for one student, are located on the first floor. Double rooms are located on the other floors with about 14 single rooms, which are slightly smaller than the doubles, scattered throughout, Edwards said.
Four rooms, eight students total, are grouped together to share one bathroom with two shower and toilet rooms and a double sink with counter space. The rooms have walk-in closets with shelf space and crank-operated windows, Hargrave said, and the bathrooms have personal locker space for students.
Hargrave said students will swipe their ID cards once when entering the residence hall and use keys for their rooms and shared bathrooms.
The walls in Park Hall are made of cement but have a smooth finish so one cannot see the cement blocks. The cement helps to make the rooms quiet, Hargrave said.
Edwards said Park Hall has also devoted a large portion of the ground floor to space for all students to use. There will be a front desk area and offices, he said, and a multimedia room that could be used for conferences or small student productions, like skits or dances.
Most of the students on Hargrave's tour of Park Hall said it is hard to believe that a tennis court used to occupy the space where the residence hall now stands.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
