For the first time in 102 years, it's move-in day for students at the University of Holy Cross.
"I am actually really comfortable,” said freshman Daniel St. Etienne. “I am glad it came out as well as it did. I am excited to be here."
The brand new $14 million dollar residence hall is the campus' first-ever dorm.
"It's going to do a lot for the West Bank and for the university itself because now you actually have a population of students that can actually live here," said Daniel’s father, David.
The 60,000 square-foot, four-story facility will house up to 135 students and comes complete with a community kitchen, living room, and fitness center.
The process of building this facility, which has doubles, singles and four bedroom units, goes back about four years. University of Holy Cross President David Landry says the hope is that the dorms will help boost enrollment and provide students with a better college experience.
"What we've been is a commuter school only. We are trying to go into a regional campus,” said Landry.
The university sits in a residential neighborhood, but Landry says the response from neighbors has been positive.
"When we started, we went to the neighborhood associations and told them what we were doing so we kept them informed. We are getting a lot of good support," said Landry.
As students eagerly unpack, Etienne, who is planning on majoring in food science, is all ready for his first day and to start hitting the books.
"I want to excel academically more so than I did in high school," said Etienne.
Paul Dudley can be reached at pdudley@wwltv.com.