‘If we build it, they will come’
By Meliqueica Meadows
Of the St. Louis American
“I’m so excited,” freshman Aajaanne Dickerson said of the newly minted William G. Gillespie Residence Hall and Student Center at Harris-Stowe State University, which was unveiled on Monday.
It is the first on-campus housing for St. Louis’ historically black university.
“It’s being a part of history,” Dickerson said. “Ten or 20 years from now, I’ll be the first to have moved in.”
Hundreds of local dignitaries, faculty and students were on hand for a special ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of the newly completed facility named for Cote Brilliant Presbyterian pastor the Rev. Dr. William G. Gillespie.
“Now we truly have a Harris-Stowe State University,” said Wayman Smith, attorney and chairman of the Harris-Stowe State University Board of Regents.
“And it would not be if it were not for the leadership of Dr. Henry Givens Jr.”
Two years ago, Givens, the president of Harris-Stowe, told his staff, “If we build it, they will come. If we build a residence hall, it will fill up like water.”
The completed hall has 228 beds; as of Monday, 220 were filled. Students began moving into the new dorm on Tuesday.
“It’s nice,” freshman Danielle French said. “It gives more people that don’t stay in St. Louis the opportunity to come here.”
This fall, French will major in elementary education and will share one of the residence’s spacious and beautifully designed suites with three other roommates.
The new $15-million, 82,000-square-foot facility is located on the north side of the school’s campus at 3026 Laclede Ave. Including 59 four-bedroom, two-bathroom suites, the structure will house offices for student activities and the residence hall director as well as departments for both counseling and health services.
Givens said the structure would provide an “opportunity for rich and enduring campus life.”
American publisher Donald M. Suggs said the new dormitory is “a significant addition to an evolving institution.”
The new dorm also contributes to the renaissance of Midtown St. Louis. Alderman Mike McMillan presented a resolution from the Board of Aldermen and said that the new facility “makes Midtown even better than it was before.”
The completion of Gillespie Hall was a joint, diverse effort. The City of St. Louis donated the land about four years ago. KAI was the architect, and Collegiate Development Services (an Irving, Texas-based company) was the developer. S.M. Wilson & Co. was the construction company, while Kwame Building Group, Inc. was construction program manager.
Bridge financing from U.S. Bank as well as funds from the federal government covered the construction costs. Student rent rates start around $500 per month, a price that includes cable television, heating and electricity. At Monday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, U.S. Bank held a drawing in which 25 students received $500 towards their rent.
The namesake of the new residence hall and student center is well known throughout the St. Louis area as a man of compassion, humility and willingness to help others. The Rev. Dr. William G. Gillespie has served on numerous local governing boards and committees. Pastor of Cote Brilliante Presbyterian Church for the past 50 years, Gillespie is a senior member of the Harris-Stowe Board of Regents.
In 1967, Gillespie was appointed by the St. Louis Public Schools to serve on a six-member advisory board to help find ways to save Harris-Stowe College, which was threatened with extinction. He helped salvage the institution and served as a charter member of the Board of Regents when Harris-Stowe became a state college in 1979. His unwavering support for the school earned him the Presidential Medallion for distinguished service in 1998.
“I’m grateful you’ve named the building the Rev. Dr. William G. Gillespie Student Center and Residence Hall,” Gillespie said.
“I know this does not represent Rev. Gillespie alone, but it says that he became one of many who gave what he could to make Harris-Stowe State University what it is today.”
UMSL adds new dorm
Today, University of Missouri-St. Louis students will begin moving into the newly constructed Oak Hall, the institution’s newest residential facility. Located on South Campus between Seton Hall and the Nursing School Building, the facility was designed by current students and created to meet the needs of the growing residential population for the largely commuter campus. It is the first residence hall built by the campus from the ground up and will house 430 students in four bedroom suites. Within the suite-style accommodations, most students will have their own private bedroom. The six-floor, $27 million building is also packed with amenities such as a heated outdoor pool, small grocery store, laundry facilities and a game room. Student rates range from $1,700-$3,000.
