UConn debuts new dorms and dining hall 

The University of Connecticut has opened a new residence hall and dining hall this year at 626 Gilbert Road. 

The new facility, Connecticut Hall, is a part of South Campus. Like other South Campus halls, it will consist of suite-style rooms. Full suites include two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Connecticut Hall will also have smaller suites with fewer bedrooms, beds and bathrooms. 

There are seven residential floors in Connecticut Hall, each with a lounge space. The first floor also includes a mail room, game room, community room and multiple group workspaces, according to the Residential Life website. 

According to Residential Life, the new hall will primarily house continuing students rather than first-year students. However, it will also house the Nursing Learning Community and Wellness Community, both of which can include first-year students. Connecticut Hall will also be home to the upper-division Honors community. 

The new complex was a part of the 2015 UConn Master Plan and was approved by the Board of Trustees in 2022, according to a UConn Today article. According to another UConn Today article, the new building will be heated and cooled using geothermal power. The article said that due to supply chain issues, “the geothermal system is not anticipated to come online until 2025.” 

The facility includes the brand-new Connecticut Dining Hall, as well. According to Executive Director of Dining Services Michael White, the new dining hall will have “more of a food court feel to it,” as opposed to a traditional dining hall. 

White said in an email that Connecticut Dining Hall would include different stations with their specialties, such as the Revive and Thrive station, which features yogurts, fresh fruits, overnight oats and juice blends. The Feast station will include pizzas, rotisseries, smoked items and barbeque. 

According to White, this dining hall will also have two smokers featured at the Feast station. 

“The pellets for the smoker come from a local farm in Manchester, Connecticut and once they have burned off we are planning on incorporating the burnt pellets into the soil at the student farm,” White wrote. 

Connecticut Dining Hall will be open from 7 to 10:45 a.m. for breakfast, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch and 4 to 7:15 p.m. for dinner. It will not have Late Night, which will be held at the South and Northwest dining halls this year. 

Connecticut Dining Hall is replacing Buckley Dining Hall, which is now permanently closed. According to White, the Honors community will use the space for programmatic purposes. However, he said that the school “will be looking to renovate the location and are considering a small banquet facility.” 

White said it is likely that lines will be long, and the facility will be crowded at the beginning of the year, as students come to see the new space. 

“I just ask everyone to be patient and understanding. As the semester settles in, and everyone adjusts to their schedules, the counts and lines in the location will normalize,” White said.