The new Julia Tutwiler Hall, which was approved last week by the Board of Trustees, comes in light of two major concerns the University had with the current facility: increase in attendance and renovation difficulties.

 “Growth has been a big part of why we decided to build a new Tutwiler,” said university planner Dan Wolfe.  “The time is right and has been something we’ve needed to address.”

Wolfe said that Tutwiler, an all-girls’ residence hall, is a building that is very hard to renovate due to its low wall height and lack of space, creating numerous mechanical issues.  The significant amount of time and energy it would take to renovate Tutwiler played a key role in why the University chose to build a new hall entirely.

Building a new Tutwiler means a huge upgrade in the facilities in a place that has been around since most of the current inhabitants’ parents were in college. Plans for the new building include a better selection of bedrooms, with more suites and semi-suites than in the current Tutwiler.  The new building will also have an updated storm shelter along with a new Julia’s Market.

Wolfe compared tearing down Old Tutwiler to what the University did when it tore down Rose Towers and replaced it with Presidential Village.  The success from the Rose Towers replacement has proven a good motivator towards catalyzing the replacement of Tutwiler, Wolfe said. 

Once the new building is completed, Old Tutwiler will then be leveled to make way for a new parking deck going in its place.

“We will always have the thousand bedrooms for students to stay,” Wolfe said.  “There will never be a time where they cannot stay in Tutwiler.”

In addition to Tutwiler, the University will also be building another new dorm over by Lakeside that has yet to be named. This dorm is expected to house 495 students.

The new Tutwiler Hall is expected to be completed by 2020, while the other new dorm is expected to be done by Fall 2018.