RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — Renovations at Arkansas Tech University's Jones Residence Hall have finally been completed after the $9 million project began in September 2022— and students are already loving it.
"I love it," said Sylvie Armstrong, a graphic design major at ATU. "It's the best dorm that I have lived in. The space here is really conducive to community building. The lobby on my floor is a cozy nook in front of my door. The bathrooms are gorgeous. I keep hearing the residents say it's like a hotel. It just feels very put together."
Renovations included interior demolition and abatement, plumbing and drain relocations, complete re-design of all interior spaces, standing new walls in newly redesigned spaces, replacing interior finishes, and adding a fire sprinkler system and elevator.
"A lot of the residents like the community spaces and the colors," said Armstrong. "There's a different color in the design for each floor, so that's a cute touch. We have a great opportunity to do small things often, such as movie nights or nights when we bake something together. If you live in Jones Hall, I think you're lucky. If you make the most of it, I think you can have a really great time living here."
The university will celebrate the project's completion with a grand re-opening event at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 12, at 1804 N. Boulder Ave., on the ATU campus in Russellville.
"The Jones Residence Hall renovation project was really a complete gut job," said Drew Dickey, ATU director of facilities management. "The project started with a demo contractor coming into the building and taking it back to the block structural walls and starting over. Our design team didn't consider the original layout, aside from any structural walls that couldn't be moved, and designed a totally new interior layout."
In April 2024, the renovated residence hall was partially opened to host university guests for the total solar eclipse, however, the fall 2024 semester will be the first time the building has been fully open since it was damaged in February 2021 due to pipes bursting.
"Any total renovation project is a challenge, and the Jones Residence Hall project was no different," said Dickey. "From beginning to end, the team continually uncovered new hurdles that made it challenging to deliver a project that was on time and on budget. Thankfully, Arkansas Tech had good partners that were there to assist every step of the way. SCM Architects and Alessi Keyes Construction were both wonderful to work with and really went above and beyond to get creative when obstacles arose. I am extremely happy with how this project turned out, and I am excited for the impact it will have on our students for years to come."
$9 million renovation project complete at Arkansas Tech
