Texas A&M Texarkana Campus Welcomes First Student Residents

HOUSTON, TX – On August 20th Texas A&M University-Texarkana opened the doors to the first students to ever live on campus. The new $10.5 million Bringle Lake Village co-ed student housing facility has 2- and 4-bedroom suites as well as traditional dormitory-style living units. The 3-story facility can accommodate 294 students. Hoar Construction built the new facility designed by The Tittle Luther Partnership of Abilene, TX.

Dr. Carlisle Rathburn, President, Texas A&M University - Texarkana planned the university’s transition to a residential university.

“Bringle Lake Village is the first major milestone to create a quality residential life experience for our students. It was hugely significant that we get this project right given its impact on the university and entire surrounding community,” according to Dr. Rathburn. “Hoar Construction was an excellent partner in working with us and all the project stakeholders to ensure the finished facility would be a place students want to live. Bringle Lake Village will definitely help us expand the educational and economic opportunities we offer to East Texas.”

The project team worked under a design/build contract to design and construct the facility in only 15 months. At the project outset, Hoar conducted an intensive three-day goal-setting workshop with the full design team, university facilities officials and stakeholders such as Residential Life staffers and students to detail all project requirements and address expectations of all team members. To expedite project delivery, Hoar broke the project into three components for subcontractor pricing; construction on the building foundation was already underway for two months by the time bids came in for the interior finishes. Construction began in August 2010 and was substantially complete in July 2011.

“The schedule for Bringle Lake Village really intensified every aspect of the project,” Brian Cook, Vice President - Texas Division for Hoar Construction, said. “We met early and often with the Texas A&M System facilities department, the design team and project stakeholders to plan the project delivery process, monitor costs and ensure we squeezed every possible square foot of space out of the budget. In the end, Bringle Lake Village offers the ‘homey’ atmosphere the university wanted, we were able to get more beds into the facility, and most importantly, it opened right on time to greet the students.”

Bringle Lake Village is located on seven acres just north of the recently completed University Center. Support areas in the facility include a reception area, computer room, laundry, study lounge, and activity room. Outdoor amenities include a swimming pool, sand volleyball, and a covered pavilion area.