OU Projects

[Pete]

[David]

Are there any renderings or design plans available for the residence hall replacements?

[FighttheGoodFight]

Are there any renderings or design plans available for the residence hall replacements?

https://www.ou.edu/operations/projects

[BoulderSooner]

Are there any renderings or design plans available for the residence hall replacements?

from this thread

https://www.okctalk.com/showthread.p...09#post1231109

[David]

Those are very nice looking, good designs.

[Pete]

[bombermwc]

Well they aren't moving at exactly lightning speed there are they?

[TornadoKegan]

When were these taken?

[Pete]

Yesterday, 12/3.

[warreng88]

Well they aren't moving at exactly lightning speed there are they?

Once the footings and everything on the bottom is completed, I assume these will fly up. When is the estimated completion date?

[Pete]

Once the footings and everything on the bottom is completed, I assume these will fly up. When is the estimated completion date?

Not sure but I bet they will be pressing hard to be done in time for school to start next August. Might have to wait until Jan 2025.

Once they get the new complex online, will be interesting to see if they roll straight into the next demolition.

[warreng88]

Not sure but I bet they will be pressing hard to be done in time for school to start next August. Might have to wait until Jan 2025.

Once they get the new complex online, will be interesting to see if they roll straight into the next demolition.

My thoughts exactly. I would assume another one would come down, be built and then the third.

[Shortsyeararound]

My middle daughter will attending Ou in the fall and the new towers are not listed on the OU bound housing application, so def 2025.

[FighttheGoodFight]

My middle daughter will attending Ou in the fall and the new towers are not listed on the OU bound housing application, so def 2025.

Yes I think I read Fall 2025 they open. It'll be a while.

[BimmerSooner]

Yes I think I read Fall 2025 they open. It'll be a while.

Correct. And just to be clear, they won't be "towers". 5 floors.

[Pete]

When you see how close they are building the new dorms to the one in Cate, you have to believe it won't be staying as part of any long-term plan:

[FighttheGoodFight]

When you see how close they are building the new dorms to the one in Cate, you have to believe it won't be staying as part of any long-term plan:

They will be there for the foreseeable future as they house a lot of College of Arts and Sciences offices. Classroom and office space at OU is still in short supply honestly.

[Pete]

You can see how close the north building is to Sager House in Cate Center, and it will be about double the height:

[bison34]

They are not messing around in building that! Great pics!

[vaflyer]

[QUOTE=Pete;1257340]When you see how close they are building the new dorms to the one in Cate, you have to believe it won't be staying as part of any long-term plan:

I was told by a source who would know that OU is still paying off the bonds for the renovations to Cate 1, 2, and 4, so OU is not planning on tearing down those three buildings anytime soon (before 2030). One thing that could change that plan is if a donor stepped forward with a large amount of money to build a new academic building on that site. I was also told that Cate 3, which has not been renovated, will be torn down. I would assume that will occur when next one of the dorm towers is taken down in 2026.

[Pete]

I was told by a source who would know that OU is still paying off the bonds for the renovations to Cate 1, 2, and 4, so OU is not planning on tearing down those three buildings anytime soon (before 2030). One thing that could change that plan is if a donor stepped forward with a large amount of money to build a new academic building on that site. I was also told that Cate 3, which has not been renovated, will be torn down. I would assume that will occur when next one of the dorm towers is taken down in 2026.

Thanks for the info!

I know Pres. Harroz has very ambitious growth plans and every year they seem to break a freshman class size record and they expect growth to accelerate with the SEC move. Due to the low density and location of Cate, you'd think they would eventually use that site for academic building expansion.

There are acres and acres of empty or severely underutilized properties south of the towers that could be used for more dorms, like Cross Center or the apartment-like housing in that same area. There are still tons of students who move off campus after their freshman or soph years and keeping them on campus is a high priority because of the strong connection to greatly improved return and graduation rates.

The south campus is also prime for something long talked about but never really done: housing that would appeal to alums and retired people. I lived next to a small college in California and it was awesome... I was over there all the time watching football games, using their pool and rec facilities, going to lectures, concerts and plays... Colleges are fantastic cultural assets for everyone, not just students.

[Pete]

One thing I didn't realize until recently...

Sororities are an increasingly big deal at OU and most the houses now have very large pledge classes every year. Even with all the new construction and expansion on North and South Greek, for the most part those houses can only hold one pledge class.

OU requires freshman to live in the dorms, then the sorority girls live in their house their soph year but then almost all of them move off campus after the sophomore year to make way for the younger girls to live in the house.

This is less the case for fraternities but I believe lots of frat boys also move off campus after their soph year.


Personally, I lived in the dorm one year then my fraternity house the next 3 so on or right next to campus all 4 years. But I think that is now quite rare and a huge percentage of OU upperclassmen have to drive from their apartment to go to class. And I know this is something OU very much wants to change.

[FighttheGoodFight]

Thanks for the info!

I know Pres. Harroz has very ambitious growth plans and every year they seem to break a freshman class size record and they expect growth to accelerate with the SEC move. Due to the low density and location of Cate, you'd think they would eventually use that site for academic building expansion.

There are acres and acres of empty or severely underutilized properties south of the towers that could be used for more dorms, like Cross Center or the apartment-like housing in that same area. There are still tons of students who move off campus after their freshman or soph years and keeping them on campus is a high priority because of the strong connection to greatly improved return and graduation rates.

The south campus is also prime for something long talked about but never really done: housing that would appeal to alums and retired people. I lived next to a small college in California and it was awesome... I was over there all the time watching football games, using their pool and rec facilities, going to lectures, concerts and plays... Colleges are fantastic cultural assets for everyone, not just students.

Not to mention housing in Norman is pretty expensive and that kind of housing would be a hit. I could see a lot of it being rentals though but that isn't a bad thing either.

[Pete]

Not to mention housing in Norman is pretty expensive and that kind of housing would be a hit. I could see a lot of it being rentals though but that isn't a bad thing either.

Boren made some very bad financial decisions with Cross Center but there are still tons of 3rd party housing developers that partner with universities and both sides profit; and this includes housing for retirees. At one time there was a lot of discussion of building condos and housing for alums near the Duck Pond and south of there.

OU has all that land south of the towers and all around Lloyd Noble... So many possibilities.

[Pete]

I've posted something similar before, but all these areas south and west (more out of the frame) of the main campus are underutilized: