Pratt Street in downtown Hartford was quiet Monday morning as University of Connecticut alumni and officials gathered to cut the ribbon on UConn Hartford’s first dormitory.
Kai Blatchford, a UConn junior majoring in social work, previously attended UConn’s main campus in Storrs, but Blatchford decided to enroll at UConn Hartford and live at the new dorm to be more integrated with the communities he wanted to help through his major.
“We hear about these different diversity problems and these things that are happening all across the country and whatnot,” Blatchford said. “You're going to see that in the cities. You're going to see the different poverty levels. You're going to see different wealth levels, and that brings you there and it kind of puts you in the real image of how things are.”
Blatchford is also a resident assistant (RA) at the new dorm in downtown Hartford.
The residence hall is located at 64 Pratt Street, which was once an office space. Blatchford said the rooms are large and feel welcoming.
“You get into the rooms and you're like, ‘Whoa,’ these nice, spacious rooms, so many amenities, and a little bigger than I feel like you would get at UConn even if you are an RA,” Blatchford said.
Adding dorms for UConn Hartford students is the result of a long-term plan to invest more in the branch campus, according to Nathan Fuerst, vice president of student life and enrollment.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, UConn began a serious search for a place to create student housing.
“Where it began to gain momentum is when we moved our campus from West Hartford to downtown Hartford,” Fuerst said. “This was always a piece of the vision, which was to add a residential program down here, and finally the pieces came together.”
Room and board on the UConn Hartford campus will cost students just over $12,600 per academic year. The dorms are furnished with full kitchens and in-unit washers and dryers.
The building was a combination of public and private funding, some of which came from Travelers.
In the summers, when students aren’t around, some of the nearby businesses that contribute financially to UConn will be able to house their interns in the dorms.
Last fall, the school started a pilot dorm program, renting a building near city hall, Fuerst said.
“We had about 40 students that were living in that residence hall this past year, which was a great way for us to stand this up because now that we're opening up the official residence hall, it gave us a little bit of a runway and some excitement to build upon,” Fuerst said.
The new dorms are about more than places for UConn Hartford students to stay, Fuerst said. The school is looking for ways to further integrate the branch into the school community.
“We're thinking about other student activities, not just basketball games, but how do we get our students to football games, too?” Fuerst said. “What other student activities do we need to stand up now that it's a residential program?” It's about the entire student experience, not just where they sleep and eat.”
