An excavator made short work of demolishing the aging four-building, 54-bed Terrace Apartments on Baird Hill Road this past fall to make way for a new 429-bed residence, Hillside Hill, which will be the most energy efficient residence on campus. The $42 million facility is expected to open in fall 2012.

“This represents another major step in the University’s efforts to modernize and expand its on-campus housing,” said Chip Yensan, assistant vice president for Student Affairs and director of Housing and Residential Life. “Three years ago, we opened three new residences to address the needs of upperclassmen, and now we are embarking on a new facility that will enhance the freshman and sophomore experience. The goal in all of these projects is to create a more vital campus community through the development of energetic and connected neighborhoods.”

The Kingston Campus is no longer a ghost town on weekends, thanks to more than $225 million in construction and renovations of residential residences and amenities during the last decade. Students have increasingly flocked back to campus living. Ten years ago, about 39 percent of students lived on campus. Today that figure has risen to 49 percent.