JACKSON, Tenn. — Feb. 22, 2008 — A 10-year plan for new student housing at 51社区 has become a 10-month plan, as the university broke ground today on a new residence life complex that will be finished no later than the spring 2009 semester.
The facility will consist of 14 buildings that will house more than 700 students when it is fully completed. Initial plans call for half of the facility to be complete by Sept. 1, providing plenty of campus housing for new students enrolling at Union in the fall.
鈥淭oday in what seems almost beyond comprehension, two weeks and three days after a tornado destroyed large portions of this campus, we gather together to give thanks to God for a new beginning and the opportunity to build again,鈥� Union President David S. Dockery said in a chapel service preceding the groundbreaking ceremony.
鈥淲e gather to not only continue to give thanks for God鈥檚 providence and all that he has done for us in the aftermath of Feb. 5, but to set a course for the future of this university,鈥� Dockery continued. 鈥淲e move forward together by the help and the grace of God. It is impossible for it to happen in any other way.鈥�
The two-story residence buildings will replace the old Watters and Hurt complexes, which housed about 700 students and sustained heavy damage in the Feb. 5 tornado that caused an estimated $40 million in damage to the Union campus. None of the buildings in those two complexes was salvageable and the entire complexes were demolished the week of Feb. 11.
Dockery said Union鈥檚 circumstances reflected the biblical story of Nehemiah, who helped the Jews in Jerusalem rebuild the city鈥檚 walls.
鈥淭he walls were crumbled, and the people wept,鈥� Dockery said 鈥淎nd our campus crumbled, and we wept.鈥�
But God鈥檚 people came together, trusted the Lord to provide the resources, planned strategically and overcame disappointment, and completed the rebuilding project in 52 days 鈥� one of the most amazing architectural feats of the ancient Near East, Dockery said.
鈥淭he people realized that the work had been done with the help of our God,鈥� Dockery said. 鈥淎nd we embark today on a very aggressive plan to see at least portions of this new residence life facility completed by the fall of 2008, making it possible once again for us to experience a sense of community all over this campus.鈥�
Following the chapel service, Union administrators, trustees, faculty, staff and students marched to the site of the new complex for a groundbreaking ceremony.
鈥淓ven as we begin new dwelling places today, there is an ultimate dwelling place beyond this,鈥� Dockery told the Union community.
The new student housing facilities will be located in the former location of the Watters and Hurt complexes.
The apartment-style rooms in the new housing complex, designed by TLM Associates, will feature four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchenette and a washer/dryer in each suite. Each building in the complex will contain 40, 48 or 56 bedrooms. All bathrooms in the bottom-floor apartments will be reinforced to provide storm shelters for students.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to do everything we can to make these buildings as safe and secure as possible,鈥� Dockery said.
The complex will ultimately consist of four 鈥渜uads鈥� with four buildings in each quad. Initial plans call for the completion of two quads, plus three buildings in each of the two remaining quads. A men鈥檚 commons and a women鈥檚 commons building will complete each of the final two quads after the rest of the buildings are finished. All rooms will open to the inside of the quad, providing added security.
Total cost for the project is estimated to exceed $30 million. Site work by Dement Construction Company will begin Feb. 25, with actual construction scheduled to begin in early March.
Detailed images of the proposed plans for the new student housing complex are available at .