Soltz Hall has made a huge impression on the Bloomsburg University campus. It’s modern features and new dining locations draw in both new and veteran students to check out the common areas and suites.
The new residence hall has finally opened this semester, which is a relief to students who were growing tired of the constant construction. The original building that stood in its place was torn down in January 2016. That building housed the University Store, Mail Services and the BU Police Department.
Since then those, key components of a Bloomsburg student’s life have moved around campus until finally finding their new permanent locations. The Police have moved to the library and the Store and Mail Services are now located inside Soltz hall.Soltz was constructed as a response to the ever-increasing number of freshmen attending the university. The existing residences did not have the capacity to comfortably hold all of the students and many incoming freshmen found themselves “tripled”, or three to a room instead of two, for at least their first semester. The new hall has a variety of suites: singles, doubles, triples and quads, that can house 398 residents. Along with the need for more living space, there was a demand for more non-meal plan dining options on campus. So, Aramark, the food company partnered with Bloomsburg University, arranged for a Chick-fil-A and a Qdoba to open on the bottom floor of the building. Both locations will accept flex, Husky Gold or cash and/or credit.Due to the Qdoba opening, Monty’s will no longer house its Mexican food area to avoid competition between the restaurants.
The cost for living in this new building is the most expensive option for on campus housing. At $4,275 a semester it beats out even the upper campus apartments. But the students who live there have access to many new “wow” factors, as the university puts it.
Some of the building’s features include a fire pit, water features, a second story outdoor plaza and a green roof. Each of the seven floors will also have two lounges.
The project totaled $61 million dollars, which, while seems like a lot of money, is only the beginning of the changes and investments Bloomsburg will be making in the next fifteen years. The university master plan aims to update the more traditional looking campus into a modern university that could rival the likes of Penn State, one of the biggest rivals when it comes to freshmen admissions. These changes throughout campus will hopefully draw in more students, which will bring in more money for the school. The next building set for construction will be the student services center located on the quad across from the Andruss Library. The drawings of the new student services building show a much larger and more modern space that will be more accessible for students.
