Florida A&M University is building a 500-bed residence hall resembling old campus dorms, aiming to blend tradition with modern amenities. With costs estimated at $60 million and plans for more housing, the university is prioritizing on-campus living for student success and community charm.
Rendering courtesy of David M. Schwarz Architects
Drawing inspiration from FAMU’s historic buildings and the Georgian style found on many American campuses, the 500-bed facility will also include faculty offices and retail space.
While Florida A&M University in Tallahassee is in the process of building a new 700-bed student residence hall on campus, it also is moving forward with plans for a new 500-bed facility that will resemble the campus's older dormitory halls.
The university recently released preliminary art designs for the 500-bed residence hall, jointly created by Tallahassee-based JRA Architects and David M. Schwarz Architects, a Washington, D.C., firm.
The building will be located at the former Gibbs Hall and Paddyfoote Complex sites on Althea Gibson Way, formerly known as Wahnish Way.
Last year, FAMU's board of trustees approved a $429,521 contract with JRA Architects — which also designed the college's Center for Access and Student Success (CASS) multipurpose building — but the contract amount with David M. Schwartz Architects is unclear, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
William E. Hudson Jr., FAMU's vice president of student affairs, told the newspaper that the traditional look of the future 500-bed housing facility coincides with the buildings in close proximity to its location (such as Sampson Hall and Young Hall), while maintaining the "aesthetics and grandeur of campus."
The building's prominent brick exterior as shown in the renderings also resembles the university's old residence halls that have been torn down, such as Truth Hall before it was demolished in 2023.
At the same time, the 500-bed residence hall's interior — expected to include retail and office space on the first floor — will be on par with newer buildings on campus like FAMU Towers and the future 700-bed facility, which the university has named Venom Landing.
"These new facilities are providing modern living [and] learning facilities to improve student recruitment, retention, progression, and graduation rates," Hudson said in a prepared statement sent to the Tallahassee newspaper. "The facilities are upgraded with technology, study spaces and group meeting rooms to enhance the living and learning experiences."
Although the four-story, 500-bed mixed-use facility's timeline has not been determined yet, it has an estimated cost of $60 million, according to Kendall Jones, the university's associate vice president of facilities, planning, construction and safety.
He told the Democrat that the cost may increase depending on when a funding source is identified and when construction begins.
FAMU Wants More Students to Live On Campus
Florida A&M's major student housing initiative is a part of overall efforts to foster student success both academically and socially as it strives toward having 4,000 on-campus beds in the next few years through its master plan.
While FAMU currently has nearly 2,700 available beds on campus, its student enrollment last fall was about 9,300, the school said.
Besides the future 500-bed and 700-bed residence halls, student housing projects on the horizon also include a mixed-use apartment complex with 800 beds that will be at the university's former Palmetto North site.
CHASM Architecture in Atlanta will provide engineering and architecture services for the facility at a cost of $605,020, the Democrat learned.
Besides FAMU's since-demolished Truth Hall, other old residence halls that have been replaced with new structures include PaddyFoote, Gibbs Hall, McGuinn Hall and Cropper Hall, according to Hudson.
Mix of Traditional, Modern Designs at FAMU
Following the release of the art renderings for the 500-bed facility, many individuals took to social media and shared their thoughts on the future residence hall's look.
"Many of the traditional dorms were torn down," commented FAMU graduate Paul Lovely on a Facebook post. "Alumni were disappointed. This brings back the nod to the traditional dorms which gave the campus its charm."
Contrary to the future 500-bed residence hall's traditional brick Georgian style, however, Venom Landing will have more of a modern exterior, similar to FAMU Towers.
Located on what was formerly the university's gravel parking lot at Osceola Street and South Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Venom Landing is north of FAMU Towers and is being built by Central Florida-based FINFROCK Construction, the same contractor that erected the FAMU Towers buildings on campus.
A $97.5 million federal loan was signed in 2024 to fund the student housing building's construction, but the project has a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) of nearly $75 million. The facility is about halfway done, the Tallahassee news source said, and is slated to be complete in time for students to move into it next August.
"The weather did cause some delays during the early stages of the project," Jones said, referring to last May's string of EF-2 tornadoes, as well as the threats from two major hurricanes, Helene and Milton, in September and October, respectively. "However, the project team has recovered, and the project is back on track."
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