One of the many Oakland University construction projects is impacting student on-campus experiences like never before. Oakland’s Oak View Hall and Honors College is now up and running.

Official freshman move-in date was Friday, Aug. 29, however, there are students who have already moved in. The building was completed Aug. 14. At 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, there will be an official open house held for the facility.

Graeme Harper, Dean of The Honors College, said that Oak View features a range of social space.

“There are meeting rooms with kitchens and meeting rooms without,” he said. “The skybox has study rooms that are two stories high and you can see over the entire campus.”

Harper added that the Honors College wasn’t really fit for Vandenberg Hall, when it was attached to the end of the hall in 1997. The former Honors College in Vandenberg is now a sitting area for students.

OU freshman nursing student and cross country member Zach Chodniki moved into Hamlin Hall Aug. 12, but Oak View became his new home Aug. 21. 

“I really like that we have a fridge and microwave already in our dorms,” Chodniki said. “It feels as if I have more room. Living in Oak View, I can be more organized.”

The 164,724 square-foot project cost nearly $30,000,000. There will be over 500 new beds. Each room will house two students and will also have private bathrooms.

The dorms feature a small kitchen area with a sink, counter tops, cabinets and a microwave. It will also include a small refrigerator and freezer. The freshman units include one large bedroom, whereas the sophomore units have two individual bedrooms.

Entering the building, there is a large sitting area with a café where students can buy snacks. The new housing gives OU’s student population around a two percent boost.

“It’s a nice collaboration between Honors College and the dormitory,” Harper said. “Oak View is not just a building, but a design concept. It looks out and embraces the whole university.”

For more information on Oak View, please visit www.oakland.edu/housing/residencehalls.