University of Florida Graduate Housing Demolition: A Transformative Project

The University of Florida (UF) is undergoing significant changes with numerous construction and renovation projects underway. Among these projects is the planned demolition of Maguire Village and University Village South (UVS), two graduate housing complexes. This decision, along with other housing initiatives, has sparked both excitement and concern among students and faculty.

Background and Rationale

After years of suggesting there was no funding for the demolition and that alternatives would be considered before it happened, UF appears to be on the brink of a devastating decision, as the Board of Trustees has on their agenda this Thursday/Friday three "small" line items (on page 24) which pave the way for immediate demolition of the 27 acres of Maguire Village and UVS. This easy-to-overlook financial note and lack of other details obscures what is actually happening.

The original Campus Master Plan studies on whether to rezone this area and keep these buildings were full of inaccurate assumptions and now-outdated data; so a new study should be done considering the changes in the local Housing Market, the cost of rebuilding vs. renovation, and the impact on graduate students.

According to UF, the Graduate and Family Housing villages of Maguire and University Village South (UVS) no longer provide the quality of life the university wished to provide to students, as the facilities are beyond economical renovation. Maguire and UVS facilities will be closing in a phased approach by no longer offering new contracts.

Project Details and Timeline

Maguire Village and University Village South, former graduate housing complexes off Southwest 34th Street, just northwest of UF's Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. The complexes are currently fenced off and will go through an abatement process April 3 through Sept. 4 to remove hazardous materials. Demolition is slated to commence between June and November, with completion anticipated by early December.

Concerns and Opposition

The decision to demolish Maguire Village and UVS has met with opposition from some members of the UF community. At a meeting on Friday, three speakers voiced their concerns about the demolition during a public comment session. Sarah Younger raised concerns about the environmental consequences of the housing removal. She inquired about UF’s plans for mitigating damage and how the demolition will impact the surrounding ecosystem. “The decision to eliminate 40% of graduate public housing without community input is concerning,” Younger said. “Graduate students are vital to make UF a top research school. It must prioritize housing for grad students. Also, where would all the waste be disposed of or will it be repurposed?"

Mitigation and Future Housing Plans

UF officials are aware of the concerns surrounding the demolition and are taking steps to address them. UF Director of Planning Linda Dixon told the BOCC that the board of trustees have also been receiving outreach and comments from grad students concerned about lack of housing. She said the family and graduate housing units are “casually being taken offline” and that “impact is not going to happen immediately and not all at once.

University leaders have not finalized plans for the expansion of graduate housing but are considering new construction or the acquisition of existing housing. UF Provost J. Scott Angle suggested increasing graduate student stipends so students could afford off-campus housing.

Broader Construction and Renovation Projects

The demolition of Maguire Village and UVS is just one part of a larger construction and renovation plan at UF. According to UF’s Assistant Vice President of Planning, Design, & Construction Cydney McGlothlin, UF has $2.2 billion allocated to construction, including 40 major projects totaling $1.8 billion.

UF’s major projects will cost over $2 billion, according to university officials. That number includes a $400 million renovation to Ben Griffin Hill Stadium to be completed by 2030 and $400 million for the construction of two new student residence halls on campus opening in 2028 and 2029. Major projects include construction and renovation of the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience, Chemical Engineering and Basic Science facilities, the PK Yonge gymnasium, Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence, Flavet Outdoor Recreation Center and the Reitz Union Veterans Memorial among others.

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UF also will undertake a $200 million expansion of the Dental Science Building, to be completed in three phases. Phase one will refurbish and repair the exterior, phase two will add a 100,000-square-foot, three-story facility for dental education and patient care, and phase three will renovate existing spaces. The project is expected to be complete by 2030. UF faculty and staff attended a groundbreaking for the new building Dec. 4. Construction of UF’s Music Building are expected to cost $65 million and finish by fall 2028.

10-Year Housing Master Plan

As part of a 10-year housing master plan, UF Vice President for Student Life Heather White discussed adding 2,505 new beds to on-campus housing by demolishing multiple older residence halls including Trusler, Graham, Simpson and Rawlings, and starting five new housing construction projects by 2035. Additionally, five residence halls will be renovated over the next 10 years, including Beaty Towers East and West, Mallory, Yulee and Reid halls. The University of Florida Board of Trustees approved about $2.7 billion for over 700 campus construction and maintenance projects. The university's 10-year housing plan aims to add 10,000 new beds by 2030, though the board chair is pushing for a faster timeline.

Phase one, expected to be completed in 2028, includes the construction and renovation of more than 5,700 new beds and the demolition of Trusler, Simpson and Graham Halls. As of June 2025, there were 27 undergraduate residence halls with 9,314 beds and three graduate and family housing facilities with 624 apartment-style units, according to a university report.

Housing Rate Increase

Another committee voted to approve a rate increase for on-campus housing to pay for UF’s 10-year housing plan. According to the board, “UF charges 63% of the average cost of private housing within a mile radius of campus.” The vote increased the cost of housing for students by 4% through fiscal year 2030.

Student Housing Options

UF has 26 residence halls for students to choose from. The Alligator interviewed current and former residents of each hall to discover the good and bad in each.

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Beaty Towers

Standing over 160 feet tall, the Beaty Towers sit on the southeast side of campus near on-campus dining, Broward Recreational Center, libraries and sorority row. It is an apartment-style residence hall and includes a private bathroom, study and kitchenette in each suite. Beaty Towers houses a living learning community specifically for Innovation Academy students. The towers can hold up to 787 students who can connect through events led by the Tower Area government and residence hall staff. It first opened in 1967 as the Twin Towers and were called Tower A and Tower B, housing women and men respectively. They were renamed after UF’s first dean of student personnel Robert Calder Beaty in 1971, and the towers became the East and West Towers. Beaty Towers was the first UF residence hall with central air conditioning. The apartment-style housing was unusual at the time, making it stand out.

Jennings Hall

Jennings Hall is a traditional residence hall that offers double and triple rooms. It is located near Sorority Row, the Education Library and Fresh Food Company, an on-campus dining center. Jennings Hall construction was finished in 1961 and was the last of six all-girl residence halls built in accordance with the coeducation bill of 1948 that allowed women to enroll at UF. While it is no longer exclusive to women, two wings separate residents by gender. It sits in a wooded area of campus and has a two-story atrium lobby. Residents can use common spaces with amenities like a television and ping-pong table. The residence hall is well-known for being one of the most social.

Cypress Hall

Cypress Hall sits in the Yulee area located on the corner of 13th Street and Museum Road on UF’s campus. The three-floor residence hall holds 255 students and offers plenty of amenities. Cypress Hall rests on the east side of campus and offers pathways to places of interest like the College of Education, College of Arts and the College of Design, Construction and Planning. The building is fairly new, officially opening to incoming freshmen in 2015. Cypress is equipped to provide accommodation for 35 students who may have a significant mobility impairment. There are movable sinks, a bidet and a shower with no curtains or sliding door in the restrooms. There are three living options in Cypress Hall, which vary in both size and number of beds. The single suite makes room for two beds and a shared bathroom, while the double suite connects two rooms with four beds and a connected shower. The largest option is properly named the ‘super suite,’ which houses six students in three cut-off bedrooms and two bathrooms on the opposite walls of the unit. Every bedroom in the suite is fully furnished and students get their own desk for classwork. The hall’s common area offers recreational activities such as a ping pong table and a pool table for residents to hang around and mingle. The commons also provide various sporting goods to be put to good use.

Yulee Hall

Yulee Hall is located on the eastern side of UF’s campus and sits near the College of Education, College of the Arts and College of Design, Construction and Planning. On campus, students are walking distance away from Broward Dining Center, Broward Recreational Center, Steinbrenner Band Hall and sorority row. It includes single, double and triple rooms. Yulee is home to the Global and Social Justice Living Learning Community. Residents will have the chance to participate in events involving civic engagement and social justice. Architect Guy Fulton designed Yulee Hall. Yulee, Mallory and Reid Halls were built as a result of UF transitioning to a coeducational university. The buildings were connected and built in the shape of a “Y” in 1950 to allow for common facilities for the women on campus, such as kitchens and offices. Senator D. L. Yulee. Yulee built a railroad from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico that featured the first rail service to Gainesville. Yulee Hall is expected to be renovated within the next decade.

Reid Hall

The constant sounds of students trying to perfect their melodies would be a bother at most other residence halls at UF. However, Reid Hall is typically occupied by music students attracted by its five-minute walk from UF’s School of Music. Because of the communal spaces, it was easy to meet other music majors. Reid Hall is where Wehner felt most comfortable practicing music inside the units, even into the night. Reid Hall is part of the Yulee Complex which is across the street from Norman Field. The complex was completed in 1950 and served as the first permanent residence halls for women. When it first opened, it had sewing rooms, hairdressing rooms and dining facilities separate from men. Reid Hall is named after Mary Martha Reid, a Confederate Civil War nurse. She was married to Robert Raymond Reid, Florida’s fourth territorial governor from 1839 until his death in 1841. Following her husband’s death, Mary Reid became a teacher in Fernandina. She later helped set up a hospital in Virginia to treat Florida soldiers in the Civil War.

Mallory Hall

Mallory Hall is located in the Yulee area on UF’s campus, close to the College of Education, College of the Arts and College of Design, Construction and Planning. The hall includes single, double and triple rooms. Students are near Broward Dining Center, Broward Recreational Center, Steinbrenner Band Hall and sorority row. Mallory Hall was designed by architect Guy Fulton. Mallory, Yulee and Reid Halls are all connected in the shape of a “Y.” The three buildings were combined back in 1950 to allow for common facilities such as kitchens and offices. Senator from Florida Stephen R. Mallory. Mallory, Yulee and Reid Halls were built in 1950 to accommodate UF evolving into a coeducational university, becoming the first permanent halls for women at UF. When they were built, the halls included sewing rooms, hairdressing rooms and separate dining facilities from the men on campus. While the hall is no longer exclusively for women. Mallory Hall was renovated in 2006, and more renovations are scheduled within the next decade.

Broward Hall

Known for its convenient location on campus, Broward Hall is about a five-minute walk away from Turlington Plaza, the Reitz Student Union and sorority row. With a capacity of 690 residents, students can choose between single, double and triple rooms. The common area kitchen on each floor includes a microwave, range and stove, but students should bring their own refrigerator, according to UF Housing and Residence Life. Built in 1954 to accommodate a growing number of female students, Broward Hall was named after Annie Douglass Broward, wife of fo…

Other Key Developments at UF

Administrative Policy Changes

At a meeting on Thursday, a University of Florida Board of Trustees committee approved new policies regarding administrative hiring and consulting at UF, following reports of excessive spending by the university’s former president Ben Sasse. The policies were approved by the full board on Friday. Under the new policies, any administrative hires with salaries above $200,000 per year require final approval from Board Chair Morteza “Mori” Hosseini. Additionally, the UF president must approve any consultant agreements between $100,000 and $1,000,000, and the board chair must approve any consulting agreements of $1,000,000 or more. The moves come after it was reported spending by the president’s office more than tripled after Sasse took over as leader of the state’s flagship university.

Jacksonville Graduate Campus

Also at the meeting on Thursday, a committee voted unanimously to build a graduate campus in Jacksonville at the Prime Osborn Convention Center downtown. The campus will be home to the Florida Semiconductor Institute. There were three potential parcels for the committee to choose from: the Prime Osborn Convention Center, Florida State College at Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Fairgrounds. The Prime Osborn Convention Center was seen as the optimal location for its access to transportation and employment opportunities and its visibility downtown and from Interstate 95. Hosseini said the board secured a $300 million commitment for campus construction, including $150 million in state funding.

Hamilton Center

William Inboden, professor and director of the Hamilton Center, shared his vision to position the Hamilton Center as the nation's top university hub for research and teaching on Western civilization. He emphasized the importance of creating a multidisciplinary curriculum that equips students with knowledge, skills and values to prepare them for citizenship in a free society and meaningful careers in service and leadership. The center also focuses on the renewal of civic mission and fostering civil discourse. The Hamilton Center introduced four new undergraduate majors: Politics, Philosophy, Economics, and Law; Great Books and Ideas; War, Strategy, and Statecraft; and American Government, History, Literature, and Law. Additionally, the center will offer two new Ph.D. programs: War, Strategy, and Statecraft; and the History of Ideas. Inboden also announced the Beren Program Rosenthal-Levy Scholars, a competitive merit scholarship initiative aimed at attracting students to UF. The center is also planning a K-12 outreach initiative focusing on classical charter schools, K-12 civics teacher support and strategic partnerships.

UF President Search

The University of Florida Board of Trustees has greenlit the construction of more than 700 campus projects, many expected to be completed next year, with a price tag of about $2.7 billion. UF's Board of Trustees has initiated a search for a permanent president, with Interim President Dr. Donald Landry expected to apply. The Committee on Governance, Government Relations and Internal Affairs at a Feb. 25 meeting unanimously approved a compensation package for UF's next president of up to $3 million.

Financial Aid Changes

Upcoming cuts to federal student aid next year will make it harder for UF to attract and retain graduate students in particular, who rely heavily on federal student loans and will no longer receive graduate PLUS loans, according to Mary Parker, UF's vice president and chief enrollment strategist. Federal legislation will also affect undergraduate students with the elimination of some Pell grants offered to low-income students. Parent PLUS loans will be capped at $20,000 per year and $65,000 overall. UF’s financial aid team is working to identify ways to support students with financial need, anticipating that institutional and philanthropic contributions will play a larger role in bridging affordability gaps.

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