Rhodes College plans to build $18M residence hall
Memphis Business Journal
John Klyce
The school’s president might be stepping down and moving to Washington D.C., but Rhodes College is still looking to the future.
On March 23, the institution announced plans to build a three-story, nearly 62,000-square-foot residence hall, which will house 150 students in both single rooms and suites.
Titled “East Village C,” it will be constructed on the southeastern portion of the campus — next to East Village A and B, other dormitories in the section — and have student rooms, flexible work and study spaces, large common areas, and a lodge, designed for the college’s multicultural student organizations.
"The addition of East Village C is a fulfillment of both our master plan to create more residential space and our strategic plan to create a transformative residential college experience marked by a culture of belonging and academic excellence," Marjorie Hass, outgoing president of Rhodes College, said in a press release.
Designed by Jane Cady Rathbone of Hanbury, a Virginia-based architectural firm that has worked with Rhodes in the past, the project was planned with input from student focus groups, and it places an emphasis on community building.
Groups that live together will have private rooms, with easy access to shared rooms. Common areas will have kitchen, meeting, and recreational areas, and collaborative workspaces will have large work surfaces, printers, white boards, and group seating. Rooming options are set to include both townhouses and four and eight-person suites, and there are plans for a quiet study space, away from large group areas.
The multicultural lodge, meanwhile, will be connected to the residential space, and it’s designed to suit the needs of VOICES (Valuing Our Impact on the Cultural Experiences of Students), the umbrella organization for Rhodes’ cultural student groups under the Office of Multicultural Affairs. It will have a kitchen, an outdoor space for student programming, and a workspace for student leaders. The student groups’ leaders will have the chance to help design the space’s interior.
A building permit for the project was filed March 22 with the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development. It was valued at $18 million and Memphis-based construction firm Grinder, Taber & Grinder Inc. was listed as the project applicant.
Pending approval from the Rhodes Board of Trustees, and completion of financial arrangements, construction is expected to begin this May and finish in July 2022.
Like many colleges, Rhodes has had to navigate through fiscal challenges caused by COVID-19, and when MBJ heard the news, it asked why the school had opted to build a new residence hall, amid the pandemic's financial ramifications. A spokesperson provided the following statement:
“Since the COVID crisis began, we planned to continue to invest in the future of Rhodes and, in particular, the residential student experience. This will not only aid us in providing more space for student residency but also improve the student experience with centralized space for our cultural organizations. While COVID brought unforeseen costs, remote learning also provided some cost savings. In many cases, these circumstances gave us an opportunity to escalate plans that were already under consideration. These plans are in line with our long-term strategic plan priorities to secure our future, foster a culture of belonging, and ensure a transformational student experience."
