The historic Rose Garden dorm before renovations.Lafayette, La.  — A two-year, $100 million housing initiative at The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is complete.

The multi-phased project included the sequenced delivery of 1,812 new beds, the renovation of multiple existing buildings, a new 1,000 space parking deck with street-level commercial space as well as a full campus master plan. Funding for the project was secured utilizing tax-exempt revenue bonds. Ambling University Development Group served as turn-key developer for the project.

"The beautiful new residence halls that surround us are one way that we are continuing to improve the college experience for our students," said Dr. Joseph Savoie, UL Lafayette president. "The University has earned a reputation for its emphasis on serving students and these halls help contribute to that."

Due to the nature of constructing new facilities in the core of campus along with the requirement to maintain the university's housing capacity, a phasing and sequencing plan was developed that allowed for all north campus housing to be replaced or renovated without causing any decrease in capacity during the process.

Following a financial closing in December 2010, the team delivered the 462-bed Baker Hall and 1,000-parking-space Olivier Tower in advance of the Fall 2011 semester (phase 1), followed by the 468-bed Huger Hall in advance of the Spring 2012 semester (phase 2). These completions allowed for several nearby dorms to be systematically vacated and demolished creating space for construction of the new 882 beds in Bonin and Corona Halls which were delivered along with several adjacent renovated halls in advance of the Fall 2012 semester.

The new student housing communities feature amenities including a centralized two-story entry into each building with adjacent reception desk The Rose Garden after.and staff offices as well as a lobby lounge, game room, laundry center and community kitchen. In addition, each floor is designed to create multiple living communities of 40 residents, each around a centrally located Resident Assistant suite and private common area. Serving as the central hub of the new communities, the historic Randolph Hall residence hall has been fully renovated and repurposed to a student activity and learning center complete with SMART classrooms, computer lab, cardio fitness center, gaming lounge, convenience store and suites for visiting faculty and staff.

Team members include Architects Southwest as the master planner/design consultant, Niles Bolton Associates as project architect, a joint venture between The Lemoine Company and Juneau Construction Company as the general contractor and RBC Capital Markets and Morgan Keegan as investment bankers.