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University of Iowa to keep for-sale dorm open to handle record housing requests [1]

['Brooklyn Draisey', 'More From Author', '- February']

Date: 2024-02

The University of Iowa will keep Mayflower Residence Hall open in order to house students for the 2024-25 school year, the university announced Thursday.

Mayflower Hall, which the UI announced in February 2023 it would sell as part of a five-year housing system master plan, will remain open as the university expects to welcome more than 1,500 returning students who have applied to live on-campus. The UI is also receiving a record number of applications from prospective students, according to the news release.

“We want to provide campus housing for as many students as possible and we are excited to see the strong interest both incoming and returning students are showing in the residential experience,” said Sarah Hansen, vice president for student life, in the release.

UI spokesperson Chris Brewer said in an email that Mayflower Hall is still for sale, and any sale that takes place while it is still in use would be conditional upon that fact.

Listed at $45 million on Realtor.com, Mayflower Hall was expected to close as early as the end of the 2023-24 school year once renovations to Hillcrest Residence Hall were complete. In documents submitted to the Iowa Board of Regents in February 2023, the university stated that the sale “would not impact the University’s ability to house first-year incoming students.”

Also included in the housing master plan are renovation projects for other existing residence halls, at a predicted cost of between $5 million and $10 million per project funded by University Housing Renewal and Improvement funds, and the construction of a new residence hall for returning students. Preliminary and predesign cost estimates for the new hall fall between $40 million and $60 million, according to the documents, and would be funded by Mayflower Hall’s sale and borrowing.

Brewer said in his email that there are no updates to the housing master plan to share at this time.

Mayflower Hall is one of 11 residence halls on the UI campus. In its February 2023 announcement, the university stated that Mayflower Hall is generally the least-requested residence hall and has the most students choosing to move to a different dorm. Students living in Mayflower are also shown to have lower grade-point averages and lower retention rates.

Built in 1968 and located just over one mile from the main campus, Mayflower Hall currently houses 888 students and can fit more than 1,000. It is made up of suite-style rooms equipped with kitchens and bathrooms.

The university plans to add additional study spaces and single rooms for the upcoming year, and more supports and amenities may be offered, according to the news release.

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Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include comments from UI spokesperson Chris Brewer.

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