Southeast Community College has broken ground on a new residence hall at its Lincoln campus, a project officials say will help accommodate growing enrollment and provide more students with access to campus housing.
The new facility, called Arbor Hall, will be the second residence hall on the Lincoln campus. SCC President Dr. Paul Illich says more than 100 students are currently on a waiting list for the existing residence hall.
Illich says the college has added nearly 2,500 students over the past four years, creating a need for additional housing. “We need to do more to be open access. And that’s exactly what Arbor Hall is going to do for us, to allow us to keep up with our tremendous growth,” Illich says.
The approximately 175,000-square-foot facility will provide 230 beds in double- and quad-style rooms, along with shared living spaces. It will also feature a dining hall seating 300 people, exercise rooms, study areas, lounges, gaming spaces and laundry facilities.
Scott Maas, the college’s associate vice president for the Lincoln campus, says the building is designed to give students more than just a place to live. “We didn’t design a place to just sleep. We designed a place to belong,” Maas says.
The facility will also include dedicated spaces for living-learning communities, allowing students in similar academic programs or with shared interests to study and collaborate. Illich says research shows students living in campus housing tend to have higher grade-point averages and better retention and graduation rates, in part because of social connections and access to support services.
The project is part of Southeast Community College’s ongoing effort to transform its Lincoln campus. Maas says the new residence hall is expected to help create a more active campus community. Arbor Hall is scheduled to open in 2028.
