Marquette University’s new $108 million residence hall on the northwest end of campus is ready to welcome nearly 900 students when they move in next week.
University officials on Thursday unveiled the new Rev. Robert A Wild, S.J. Commons, a two-tower, 292,000-square-foot dorm located south of Wells Street between 17th and 18th streets. Wild Commons is the first new residence hall built by the university in 50 years.
The building includes two towers: the 11-floor Eckstein Tower, which runs parallel to 17th Street, and the L-shaped 8-floor Wells Hall, which runs parallel to both 18th Street and Wells Street.
The towers are connected through the lower level by a large dining hall and community space.
Both residential towers of the building include single and double rooms with common bathrooms located on each floor. The two towers will house 890 students, who will move in Aug. 23.
The dorm’s dining hall includes nine food stations, including a barbecue pit, allergy-accommodating station, salad bar, international food area and bakery. The dining hall has about 95 full-time employees, about 60 of whom were retained from Mashuda dining hall, which closed at the end of last year.
Some of the building’s amenities include smart classrooms, study lounges on each floor, a Catholic chapel and interfaith prayer area, and music and dance space.
Eckstein tower is also home to the first-year Engineering LLC Program, a residential program for incoming engineering students. The tower is named after Ray and Kay Eckstein, two longtime alumni donors who gave $10 million toward construction of the new dorm.
