CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) – A Southern Illinois University official says one of the Carbondale campus’s iconic 17-story towers will reopen to students next fall.
The Southern Illinoisan reports that the university has decided to close University Hall and reopen Neely Hall. Neely Hall was one of three high rise dorms that were closed for the 2018-2019 school year after an enrollment decline left the university unable to fill them.
University Housing Director Jon Shaffer says reopening Neely Hall will give students more flexibility if they want to change rooms or roommates since it has twice the capacity of University Hall.
Shaffer says that while the towers have been closed to university students, they have hosted conferences, university guests and summer camps. He says the towers have been kept in good working order with regular maintenance.