CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Demolition crews are slowly chipping away at the four high-rise buildings that formed the skyline at the University of Miami and served as the home for thousands of freshman students for more than 50 years.
Crews are bringing down the Hecht Residential College to make way for the new Centennial Village on campus.
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The $335 million Centennial Village will have five residential colleges and a dining hall when it opens in August 2024.
The architect, Zyscovich, describes it as campus housing facility that features single and double rooms for approximately 2,100 students, private bathrooms, shared kitchenettes in common areas, classrooms, and learning hubs.
The University of Miami says the Centennial Village is part of an expansive plan to modernize campus.
The Florence Ruth Hecht residential college was built in 1968 on the shores of Lake Oscola.
While many students fondly remember the 12-story dorms, others said they had many issues, including widespread mold.
Students and faculty at the University of Miami School of Architecture started a petition on Change.org to save the buildings. They said there was no reason to “erase and rebuild” the “historic, brutalist towers.”
That petition failed.