Overview

Carnegie Mellon University is preparing to build a new 265-bed residence hall on Forbes Avenue between Devon Road and Beeler Street where the Doherty Apartment building is currently located. Doherty will be demolished, and the wooded hillside will remain to keep a buffer between the residence hall and the adjacent neighbors.

The building’s prominent position on Forbes Avenue makes it the ideal location for amenities available to the broader community. In addition to the 265 beds, it will feature a 6,000 SF food market and café that will be open to students, the surrounding neighborhood, and the campus community.

The existing grade and building placement offers different opportunities for different levels of outdoor plazas. The lower space along Forbes will allow for outdoor café seating opportunities, incorporate a large set of seat-steps for congregating, studying, meeting people, or waiting or Uber’s or Grubhub deliveries. The lower patio will connect to the upper, more private patio, via accessible walkways. The upper patio, or ‘porch’, will include tables & chairs, and more casual options such as Adirondack chairs and sofas.

The university is seeking an environmentally friendly LEED Gold rating for the residence hall. Some sustainable features include native plantings, rain gardens, and a bicycle storage area. The streetscape design matches that of the recently completed Tepper School of Business to create a continuous streetscape unity through the Forbes Avenue corridor of campus.

Construction on the residence hall is expected to start in the spring of 2021, with completion set for summer 2022

Year: 2019-2022

Status: Ongoing