North Texas Daily

The construction for Joe Greene Hall, which is meant to house incoming freshman this fall, is on track for finishing in late February and for moving in furniture early April, according to the project director. UNT’s newest residence hall is being built directly behind Kerr Hall to expand the campus south of the Union.

“We have had an appropriate schedule for the construction of this project,” project director Janna Morgan said. “They’re making very good progress and on time. If you drive by it every day, you see more progress. I’m proud of it and excited to see it opened, used and for students to see it.”

Vaughn Construction was hired to construct Joe Greene Hall and the tour center. The residence hall comes with amenities including community kitchens, music practice rooms, multiple lounge areas and a community courtyard.

The tour center features a conference room, a large presentation room that seats about 150 guests, a hospitality wall where they will have coffee service and snacks, rooms to meet with families in small groups and a mock bedroom.

“I think it is going to be a good thing to have a new touring center,” incoming biology freshman Grace Ferguson said. “I think the touring center at Crumley Hall is a little tight. I loved UNT and I know plenty of other people will too. The new touring center leaves great opportunity for people to find their dream college like I did.”

The residence hall will have 500 pod-style bedrooms with two roommates per living unit. Rather than having a restroom connected and shared between two living units, the restrooms are in a pod configuration where there will be private, but shared by multiple people within a community.

“This dorm layout is pretty unique so it’s been a fun learning experience,” project manager Andrew Thompson said. “It’s been interesting hearing from the housing coordinators about how they came up with this design. And with the pod-style rooms, it’s trying to promote community more so you can’t just walk straight from your room into your bathroom, you have to go out in the hall.”

Over the summer, construction will begin on a new, two-story dining hall across the street from Joe Greene Hall, with a completion date set for December 2019. The designs with the new dining hall, Joe Greene Hall and the tour center will tie together with a “Texas Modern Ranch” aesthetic.

“The aesthetic has a nod to Texas, but in an elegant way,” Morgan said. “Those finishes translate between both of the facilities and tie together which will be really beautiful. We will have a lot more students on that side of campus, which I think will be really great. The residents from Joe Greene Hall, Kerr Hall and Maple Hall will have more options. And everyone likes more food options.”

Joe Greene Hall construction started in October 2017 with the foundations being built, and the building started being constructed above-ground in April 2018. Morgan said the project has stayed within the $58.9 million budget and is set to be completed on time.

“There’s a certain pride to what we do too,” Thompson said. “When we started this job, it was an empty parking lot. This old dilapidated parking lot with weeds growing in it, and there’s a really nice building now that’s going to change the lives of students’ years and years to come. It’s cool that this building is going to have a fresh set of faces coming in every year. We’re here to change their lives hopefully.”

Featured Image: The Joe Greene Hall began construction in October 2017 and is set to be completed in February 2019. The hall will house freshmen, have community bathrooms and a community kitchen. It will also be home to the new tour center to welcome potential new students. Abby Esau.