The High Street Residence Hall, the Carlisle liberal arts college’s first new residence hall since 1973, is part of a $46 million campus investment plan that began in 2012. Officials said demand for on-campus housing exceeded available space, prompting the start of construction on the new residence hall last year.
The 40,000-square-foot hall is at the corner of Conway and West High streets. The college is trying to secure LEED Platinum certification for the building from the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
If approved, it would be the first college residence hall in Pennsylvania to achieve a platinum designation.
Dickinson routinely receives recognition for its campus sustainability efforts. The hall would be the seventh building on the Carlisle campus to earn LEED certification.
Lancaster County-based Benchmark Construction led the work on the building, which was designed by New York-based architectural firm Deborah Berke Partners. The facility was designed with energy-efficient exterior walls and roof, high-efficiency windows and a connection to Dickinson’s central energy plant, among other features designed to reduce carbon emissions.
In addition, the building features an upgraded stormwater management system that includes four rain gardens.
The hall also includes several student community spaces with a living room, kitchen, outdoor patio and indoor bicycle storage room.
Bigger plan
Before starting on the new hall, contractors demolished three surrounding buildings owned by the college.
Since 2012, Dickinson has built a new athletic training center, soccer field and interdisciplinary greenhouse, as well as expanded the Kline Fitness Center and Rector Science Complex.
The college plans to bring a new solar array near its football stadium online later this fall. The 2.9-megawatt system is expected to provide about 25 percent of the college’s annual electricity consumption.
Dickinson officials said no other building plans are in the works at this time.
The fall semester begins on Sept. 3.