New housing projects planned for future Seahawks

Galloway+Hall+was+named+for+Edmond+Galloway%2C+a+freshman+who+died+in+1974+when+he+fell+off+of+a+bicycle+and+sustained+a+head+injury.+April+1975%2C+was+formally+named+for+him.

Casey McAnarney | The Seahawk

Galloway Hall was named for Edmond Galloway, a freshman who died in 1974 when he fell off of a bicycle and sustained a head injury. April 1975, was formally named for him.

Tyler Newman, Assistant News Editor

UPDATE: This article has been updated from its previous format to include new developments, including final recommendations made in regards to UNCW Housing and an update to The Hamilton project off campus. More updates will be made available as they come and this article will be updated accordingly.

Over the next five years, additional construction on and around UNC Wilmington’s campus is expected to take place. The simple answer as to why? Housing.

With the enrollment sizes at UNCW increasing by the year, the university and local construction firms have seen a growing market for young adults seeking a place to call home for their time at the university.

Casey McAnarney
Originally called “Dorm ’71,” Galloway Hall was the first residence facility on UNCW’s campus and holds 400 students.

In April 2017, UNCW released their “Housing Master Plan,” provided in part by Brailsford & Dunlavey, Inc. The plan details the expansion of housing on campus with the addition of five new residence halls.

The Seahawk previously reported on the plans detailed in this master plan, however updates have been made.

“As an update, this plan was close but not the final recommendation made by our consulting team (Brailsford and Dunleavy),” said Peter Groenendyk, Director of Housing and Residence Life and UNCW. 

“Ultimately, the University receives their recommendations and we have to decide to accept them, reject them or modify them.  I can tell you that the final plan was similar to the BOT proposal but did continue to evolve.”

He continued, “The University further modified the plan and we are currently in an active RFP process for the development and delivery of new housing assets.   Because we are in an active RFP there is very little I can disclose but I am happy to make some observations that are generally known.”

 

Casey McAnarney | The Seahawk
The University Apartments, which are scheduled for removal, hold up to 400 students.

These observations include 1800 new beds by Fall of 2021 or 2022, after that time, no additional assets are planned.

“I can also share that it is our intention to remove the University Apartments and create a new and engaging residential quad.  The decision regarding Galloway will be made closer to the Fall of 2021 and will be driven largely by demand,” Groenendyk said.

“Obviously we have predicted demand based on planned enrollment growth and we believe the current plan for new housing will be sufficient to meet demand.  UNCW has a strong history of enrollment growth which is why I am going to recommend that the decision regarding Galloway be pushed to a later date.”

New residence halls have mostly positive opinions from students around campus.

“Students deserve to have new and improved residence halls. Your environment reflects who you are and how you function. If your living condition is not the best, it could really affect you academically,” said Selena Ngo, a sophomore at UNCW.

 

Meanwhile, the off-campus housing planned as “The Hamilton” has run into problems, as the developers have been unable to secure the property, according to sources. It was previously reported that the new student housing complex was shooting for 2019 at the old Kmart lot on South College Road.

New updates on both housing projects will be made available as they come.

The original plan for The Hamilton is below:

The old Kmart building at 819 South College Road near UNCW’s campus is expected to be repurposed into student housing by a local developer, GHK Cape Fear Development, partnering with Capstone Collegiate Communities out of Birmingham, Alabama.

Construction is not the only way in which UNCW is addressing housing concerns. In 2015, it was announced that all-girl Belk Hall would go coed.

Capstone has also developed The Cottages of Boone in Boone and Valentine Commons in Raleigh.

Eight hundred and ninety-nine new student beds in one, two and four bedroom apartments will be expected in the new student housing complex, named The Hamilton.

Documents displaying the plans show for three new buildings. Two of which will have four stories of living space. The third will contain a first floor of retail space and the subsequent three floors entirely residential.

Two parking garages and surface parking lots are planned as well, for a total of nearly 1,000 parking spaces. Two swimming pools will be included as well.

Named after Thomas Tristram Hamilton Jr., the first president of Wilmington College, later UNCW in 1969, The Hamilton is being developed due to strong growth at UNCW and surrounding areas.

Aside from housing concerns, UNCW is addressing parking concerns by constructing multiple new parking sites around campus.

Benefits of construction of The Hamilton would be easier and closer access to UNCW without crossing College Road. Easing the demand for housing could be another future benefit, as the student population continues to grow.

“I think that Wilmington students will have a greater variety of housing other than on-campus that still offers the location and proximity of on-campus housing,” said Jimmy Chen, a third-year finance major at UNCW.

He continued, “with the surge in supply, I believe that there will be less demand on the current market which in turn will lead to better overall value for students. I think Wilmington can handle the additional housing, however, they [housing developers] should not continue at the current rate because the market here can easily become oversaturated and have apartments with vacancies.”

The target completion date of the first phase of The Hamilton project is August 2019.

The Hamilton design plans can be found in PDF format here.

Tyler Newman can be found on Twitter @tnewman39.