University celebrates opening of two new residence halls
8/8/2010 7:12:02 PM
(Aug. 8, 2010) Rainy weather on Friday, Aug. 6 may have moved the ribbon-cutting ceremony inside, but it didn’t dampen the spirits of those eager to celebrate the opening of two new residence halls at North Georgia College & State University.
The ceremony was held at North Georgia Suites, located at 255 Sunset Drive behind the university's Health & Natural Sciences Building. In addition to university staff, faculty and administration, representatives of the construction companies and other associated contractors also were on hand for the celebration.
A ribbon-cutting was held earlier in the day at Patriot Hall, a new residence hall for cadet members of the Boar's Head Brigade. The new building will house 350 cadets, some of whom already have moved in in advance of this week’s beginning of FROG Week. Members of the residence assistance staff at North Georgia Suites, which will house 600 students, also have moved into their new home and they and the campus’ entire residence assistance staff was on hand for Friday’s celebration.
In addition to helping celebrate the opening of the two new residence halls, representatives from Ambling University Development, Choate Construction Co., and Lord, Aeck & Sargent also presented the university with two new scholarships. The scholarship endowed by Ambling is to be given annually, beginning next year, to a Lumpkin County student. The scholarship endowed by Choate, LAS and other designers and contractors associated with the project also is to be presented annually, beginning next year.
Patriot Hall is located on the hill behind Gaillard Hall, an existing residence hall for cadets. Large windows in the center portion of the two-wing building look out over the drill field and the iconic gold tower of Price Memorial Hall can be seen in the background.
North Georgia Suites is located on Sunset Drive behind the Health and Natural Sciences building and boasts outstanding views of the mountain range beyond Dahlonega. 
In addition to the new residence halls, also opening is a new six-story, a six-story, precast parking deck that will accommodate about 1,000 cars. The deck will be used mainly for those students living in North Georgia Suites and is located next to the residence hall.
The construction projects were funded through tax-exempt municipal bonds and students will retire the debt through housing and meal fees.