New Digs for Ohio State Freshmen and Sophomores

It's time to take down some of that construction tape-there's a new building on campus. Actually, four new residence halls and one dining facility open this fall as part of Ohio State University's North Residential District Transformation project. The remaining five buildings still under development are slated to open in August 2016. When completed, the $371 million project is expected to accommodate 3,800 first- and second-year students, adding 3,200 beds to the north side of campus.

1.Bowen House, 2125 N. High St.

This co-ed residence hall will accommodate 380 students. On the ground floor, Bowen features an impressive entrepreneurial hub, where students can reserve space for a semester to run a business. With a central location on High Street, the entrepreneur center is meant to encourage collaboration among students.

2.Curl Hall, 80 W. Woodruff Ave.

Although the demolition of Curl Drive is written in the development plans, the name is being carried over to Curl Hall. The first-floor Curl Market will offer deli-style sandwiches, pastas and wraps to go. On the second floor of the all-glass structure is a 6,000-square-foot event space, perfect for resident advisor training or a National Championship watch party.

3.Scott House, 160 W. Woodruff Ave.

Another co-ed residence hall, Scott House will accommodate 390 students. Scott House is also home to a 2-story dining facility topped off with six food stations. Students can expect a breakfast bar, salad bar, Mongolian barbecue and a deli station. On the building's north side, you'll find Connecting Grounds, a coffee shop that lists menu items by their country of origin (for instance, the coffee beans are sourced from Honduras).

4.Raney House, 33 W. Lane Ave.

The original building was demolished during construction, but the new Raney House will sleep more than 450 students. The residence hall also houses a large conference space and four breakout areas with a total capacity of about 100 people.

5.Torres House, 187 W. Lane Ave.

The largest of the residence halls opening this fall-accommodating 532 students-features a "spark space," a room furnished with moveable tables and chairs. The space is designed to connect students, giving them a place to brainstorm their next great idea.

Title Traditions

Immediately following World War II, student enrollment at Ohio State spiked dramatically, largely as a result of the GI bill. To alleviate the overcrowded campus, the university built nine dormitories on North Campus during the 1960s and named them in honor of war veterans who went to OSU and were killed in the first and second world wars and the Korean War.

In keeping with tradition, the board of trustees, with consideration from students and staff, approved the reuse of the names Blackburn, Curl, Nosker, Raney and Scott in addition to four new names honoring veterans from more recent wars, such as Vietnam and Iraq. You can read about some of those veterans here.