In a September meeting, the Board of Visitors gave the go-ahead on a schematic design for a new residence hall to be built near the existing Hereford residential college—a dorm assignment known among students as getting “Heref**ked” due to its isolating design and distance from central Grounds.
“It’s a psychological hurdle,” says Carol Wood, UVA spokesperson. “Students think it’s too far away, but in fact it’s not.”
Now, the University aims to house more students in that area with the second of two new freshman residence halls. The dorm will provide “swing space” as the Alderman Road “New Dorms”—whose 1970s construction makes them fairly outdated—are demolished and rebuilt over the next 10 years.
The new Hereford dorm will house 130 freshmen and join together a community of five other residential buildings that make up the Hereford residential college, which is located on a hill behind the intersection of Alderman Road and Stadium Road. UVA architect David Neuman said in a press release that the new building will have more windows and feel more inviting than its maligned predecessor. It will also have creature comforts like air-conditioning that will be superior to the slightly better-situated Stadium Road dorms. The budget for the project is between $12.6 and $14.7 million.
Hereford residential college, with 550 beds, was determined to be too big for a cohesive freshman community, so two of Hereford’s five houses will be joined with the new building to form a smaller community of about 350-400 freshman—who should all have excellent leg muscles by the end of their first year.—Meg McEvoy
