Renovations to Brackenridge Hall began on Sept. 25, fencing off the building, nearby sidewalks and portions of Bell Avenue and Administration Drive.
Matt Flores, assistant vice president of communications at Texas Woman’s University, said that the renovated building will act as a visitors’ center and hub for student services. Such resources include more parking, a Veterans Affairs office, ID office, admissions, financial aid, registrar and bursar services. A larger bookstore and new café are also anticipated for Brackenridge, Flores said.
“This renovated facility will greatly enhance the visibility of the aforementioned student services,” Flores said. “The renovated building also will improve a vital part of the campus. The makeover includes a new atrium and a re-orientation of the front entrance, which will make a stronger visual impression as people approach the Denton campus.”
Prior to its renovation, Flores said that Brackenridge Hall served as a multipurpose center that housed dining options, student life services, a post office and a bookstore. The opening of Hubbard Hall, the new student union, in 2020 relocated many of these features into the new facility, including the Center for Student Development (CSD) and Campus Alliance for Resource Education (CARE).
Brackenridge Hall is expected to reopen by the fall 2025 semester. In the meantime, the latest addition to campus construction raised concerns among students regarding their ability to find parking.
“The closed-off parking due to construction at TWU has made searching for a parking spot into a maze, especially for someone who has only learned the route to one parking lot,” Linh Van, junior health informatics student, said.
Beyond Brackenridge renovations, other construction projects on campus include the renovation of Mary Gibbs Jones Hall into a dental hygiene and counseling clinic, along with the creation of TWU’s future Health Science Center. To accommodate the construction of the Health Science Center, the maroon parking lot east of Parliament Village closed on Sept. 5.
Van also said that as a result of construction, finding a parking spot in the morning became increasingly competitive among commuters, especially for a place by the Multipurpose Classroom Laboratory. Similar sentiments were shared by undergraduate nutrition student Ana Mendoza, who said she struggled to park at TWU despite living on campus.
“Honestly, I just think that for them to have us pay $200 [for parking passes] this year knowing that they’re gonna have so much construction, it’s kind of annoying, especially if you go home on the weekends,” Mendoza said. “I have like, three or four bags of stuff that I have to bring back out to my dorm. Stark and Guinn used to be a little bit empty in the morning, so it would be easy for me to come home, just drop all my stuff, and come to class, but now it’s really hard. Last time, I spent like 45 minutes trying to find parking. I still had to leave my bags in my car for like a whole week because I don’t even want to move my car again.”
Featured photo by Jocelyn Truong
Jocelyn Truong can be reached via email at jtruong1@twu.edu.
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