Student Housing and Dining

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Currently first-year student housing is located in White, Downey, McIntyre and Orr Halls, which provides approximately 2,000 beds. The four towers are clustered around the Washakie Center dining hall. The approved design replaces an initial 950 beds of housing and provides a new dining facility offering seating for up to 850. The proposed site, in support of connecting first-year students to the benefits of campus life, is within the historic core of campus in an area generally bounded by 15th and Lewis Streets to the east and north, McWhinnie Hall and the Half Acre Gym to the west, and the Union parking lot and transit stops to the south. The area is currently occupied by surface parking and the site of the recently deconstructed Wyoming Hall.

Concurrent with the objectives of the University’s Campus Master Plan, the addition of housing and dining into this campus precinct, near amenities and services found in Coe Library, the Wyoming Union, and Half Acre Gym, presents the opportunity to create an active and vibrant student life neighborhood. Bringing first-year housing into the historic campus core also removes the barrier and risk that crossing 15th Street represents in resident students’ daily life experience.

The project includes approximately 5-acres of new landscaping including improvements to campus mobility systems. The project will provide safe, convenient, and accessible paths including a strong connection to the transportation corridor as envisioned in the Lewis St. Corridor Master Plan. A new transit stop located at the intersection of Willett Dr. and 15th Street will provide convenient access to the university bus system. The transit stop will replace the current transit stop located east of the Wyoming Union.

Contractor: J E Dunn Construction
Architect: alm2s

Project Timeline:

• Construction Start: Fall 2022
• Construction Complete: Spring 2025

Project Size: 300,000sf

Project Budget: $210,000,000

Project History:

• Wyoming Legislative Task Force on UW Housing Begins – March 2018

• Wyoming Legislative Task Force Report on UW Student Housing Issued – November 2018

  • 2018 Legislative Report on UW Student Housing

  • Design Team Selection – July 2019

• Authorization to Proceed with Level 3 – September 2019

• UW Housing Task Force Report Issued – October 2019

  • 2019 UW Housing Task Force Report

• Finalized Site and Building Footprint Approval – October 2020

• Interior and Exterior Design Approval – May 2021

  • Student Housing and Dining - Approved Interior and Exterior Design 

Campus Impacts:

• Intermittent lane or road closures along 15th street between Lewis Street and Ivinson Avenue.

• Closure of the Half Acre parking lot to private parking

• Transit stops to remain at the Union until the new round-about is completed

• Lab School drop-off will remain during construction

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