West Chester University DormitoriesWest Chester, Pa.

PROJECT COST: $100 Million

West Chester University in West Chester, Pa., continues its six-year housing-renewal initiative to replace all of its aging dormitories with modern student housing.

P. Agnes of Philadelphia began construction of the $100-million Allegheny Hall and Brandywine Hall project in January 2008.

Each building will house approximately 630 students, is seven stories tall and has a basement.

The block and plank structures sit on 4-ft-thick mat-slab foundations. Green features include a 170-well geothermal heating and air-conditioning system, with wells 500 ft deep; low-flow toilets; motion-detector controlled lighting in public spaces; and the use of regional materials.

Alleghany Hall features a 35-person media center, theater, fitness room and computer lab.

The basement of Brandywine Hall includes academic space, with classrooms and a video production laboratory to create a living-learning community during the day as well as at night. The dorms will open this fall.

The housing renewal initiative calls for six new buildings to be constructed in three phases, adding approximately 3,450 beds to replace existing housing on campus.

Remington Group of Wayne, Pa., serves as owner’s representative for the project.

Key Players

Owner: University Student Housing, a division of The Foundation for West Chester University, West Chester, Pa.
Owner’s Representative: Remington Group, Wayne, Pa.
Contractor: P. Agnes, Philadelphia
Architect: WTW Architects, Pittsburgh, and Voith & Mactavish Architects, Philadelphia