By Victoria Doll–

The University of Louisville will begin new residence hall construction May 2020, using $90 million of state funding. Two new dormitories will be built to replace Miller Hall and Threlkeld Hall.

John Karman, U of L’s director of media relations, stated these dorms have been chosen for replacement because they no longer represent what students want. The university is updating these dorms to better serve the needs of the students.

In May 2020, construction on a new residence hall will begin where the Miller Hall parking lot currently is. The new residence hall is set to open in August 2021, and the existing Miller Hall will be demolished in May 2022. There will be 170 parking spaces lost during the construction.

Gary Becker, U of L’s director of Parking and Transportation Services, commented on the loss of the Miller Hall parking lot.

“The greatest impact to campus will be the loss of visitor parking,” Becker said.

The construction will have minimal effects on faculty and students of U of L. There will also be no new parking added during the construction.

Despite the loss of parking, Becker and his team are excited to see the growth of the university and what new opportunities the construction can bring.

In May 2021, Threlkeld Hall will also be demolished and there will be a new residence hall built at that location. That new residence hall is slated to open August 2022.

Both of the new dorms being built in the next two years will have 450 traditional style dorm rooms.

During the upcoming construction, the Cultural Center will also be torn down and rebuilt to better serve the students.

Veronnie Jones, senior associate vice president for diversity and equity, stated the construction of the new Cultural Center is something she and her team have been looking forward to.

“This is an exciting time for our Diversity and Equity units. This has been a goal for many years, and we are glad to see it finally happening,” she said.

Jones has had members and some students helping with the formation of the project since fall 2019. They are excited about the new opportunities this construction will bring for the Cultural Center.

During construction, the Diversity and Equity Belknap units will be relocated to the first and second floor of Strickler Hall’s wings.

The Cultural Center, the Office of Diversity Education and Inclusive Excellence, the LGBT Center, the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Social Justice and the Women’s Center will be included in the relocation.

Jones and her team view this as a positive change.

“We are already exploring ways to work more collaboratively as a unit and also exploring the effectiveness of our current programs,” she said. “This is a great opportunity to foster great synergy across campus.”

File Photo // The Louisville Cardinal