WILMINGTON — A dormitory that had 50 years worth of memories buried in its walls was demolished on UNCW’s campus last month. But those who want a keepsake from their time there have a chance to buy a brick.
READ MORE: UNCW reveals post-Galloway demo development plans
Galloway Hall, the first residential dorm built on UNCW’s campus in 1971, was razed in July. The $2-million demolition project and cleanup is expected to be completed this month.
The six-story building housed 400 freshmen annually and was the only dorm named after a UNCW student, Edmund Galloway, who died in a biking accident on campus in 1974.
To remember its service to the university, Galloway Hall bricks are selling for roughly $50 on the UNCW bookstore website. According to a UNCW spokesperson, there has been strong support already for the mementos, though how many have sold and are available was not answered by press.
“Every dollar of profit from the sale of these commemorative bricks will go back to help the UNCW Seahawk community, in the form of scholarships, programming, and investments back into our mission of creating transformative learning experiences,” Gino Galutera, associate vice chancellor of business services, released in a statement.
Galloway Hall hasn’t been open since the pandemic, when it served as the quarantine building for students who tested positive or were suspected to have the Covid-19 virus. The dorm also experienced extensive water damage due to Hurricane Florence in 2018.
Its aging infrastructure prompted UNCW Board of Trustees to retire the facility, voted on last fall. Chair Hank Miller told Port City Daily back then the building wasn’t prime for redevelopment because of the small size of the rooms.
In its stead, another modern dormitory will be built. This comes as UNCW faces for the second year in a row a shortage of beds to house incoming students — it’s a requirement for freshman and sophomore to live on campus, passed in 2021.
Around 170 students are slated to have alternative sleeping places as the 2024 school year starts. That will include dormitory common areas, such as TV and study rooms, office space, or tripling-up in bigger dorm rooms.
However, UNCW’s master plan was unanimously approved by trustees Thursday and includes preliminary planning for a third parking deck and phase three of its student housing village. The campus added 1,810 beds in 2021 and the Galloway site will become the home of a 380-bed dorm, the only residence hall slated for the first five years in the university’s master plan.
ALSO: UNCW plans for dorms in the short-term with hotel, workforce housing in the future
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