Rebecca Fitzmaurice noticed something missing the first time she ventured into the basement of Colby Hall to bake cookies.

No oven mitts.

The renovated residence hall that reopened in August after a 14-month makeover had everything else: fresh paint, new flooring, lots of natural light, new lounges and study spaces.

“We just needed a couple of small things to get it all set up. Everything else is perfect. It feels very homey,” said Fitzmaurice, a sophomore criminal justice and political science major from Aurora, Colo., who is the resident assistant for the third-floor west wing. “At first, we were a little worried it would feel like a hotel. But it’s not like that at all. Everybody knows your name and says ‘hi’ in the hallways.”

Colby, with 347 residents, is the last dormitory renovation on the main campus. During the 2014-15 school year, the residence hall was gutted. Rooms, hallways and the front entrance were reconfigured as part of the first major change to the building since it opened in 1957.

Inside, dark purple, grays and creams adorn the walls while marble and hardwood floors provide high-toned touches. New plush seating, tables and a countertop bar with plentiful electrical outlets have turned the lobby from a living room to a study hall.

Colby Hall, TCU’s only all-female residence hall, was renovated beginning in 2014.
Photo by Amy Peterson

The social gathering place has moved downstairs to the “Colby Cove,” a basement lounge with comfortable furniture, kitchenette, updated laundry facilities, bathrooms and a theater room with a 90-inch television, surround sound and stadium seating for 25. The new look is a massive departure from the space that only had a laundry and residents once described as “a concrete dungeon with storage cages.”

“The spaces they added from what Colby was prior and what it is now is really cool,” said Jennifer Sepulveda, hall director, who moved to Colby after two years in Foster Hall. “It’s been awesome to see the students utilize the common spaces. They’ve really made it their own and made it proud to be in Colby.”

In late August, about 40 young women attended a watch party of the Video Music Awards. A few days later for a breakfast-for-dinner event, residents made egg casserole, toast and served fruit while watching “The Breakfast Club.”

Common areas and study rooms on each floor provide more space to socialize and get work done outside residents’ rooms.

“It’s exciting to see residents move in and grow into their new lives,” said Kaillyn Lewis, a junior childhood development major from Houston, who also is a resident assistant for the third-floor east wing. “My freshman year, Colby was not a popular choice because it was an older hall. Now, girls are exited to be the first people to live here.”

Dorm residents are eager to show off their new digs. “The girls’ rooms look like they came out of Pinterest — very tidy, pretty, well-organized.” Fitzmaurice said. “They’re taking a lot of pride in taking care of their new home.”

Beyond cleanliness, Sepulveda said a common identity is part of what turns a residence hall into a community. “It almost feels like a big sisterhood,” she said. “Students are out of their rooms, interacting with one another. There’s a sense of taking care of each other, on top of taking care of this great new place where we live.”

Colby Hall residents like to leave their doors open to create a more homey environment. Photo by Amy Peterson

Third floor west resident Elizabeth Hinz and her two roommates leave their door open to make their room more welcoming.

“I feel like I meet more people that way. It makes it feel like we’re a big family,” said Hinz, a freshman journalism major from Sugarland, Texas.

Lewis said that’s the kind of atmosphere Colby wants to promote, especially for first-year female students. “Our hope is that we’re known for being tight-knit, that everybody knows and cares about one another.”

But some of the hall’s former traditions won’t return, such as Colby Halloween and the mythological Colby Ghost. Instead, the hall is planning new events to celebrate during the year.

One is an October drumming event called Splatter Beat, involving drum barrels, paint and a lot of rhythm. Colby representatives hope to create a competition with neighboring dorms Sherley, Foster and Waits. In November, Colby will hold an all-hall Thanksgiving dinner.

“We have opportunity to reinvent ourselves,” Sepulveda said. “What traditions will we keep? What new ones will we make? It’s going to be fun seeing what our culture is, and what we’re going to be known as. We’re unique in that we’re the only all-female hall.”

New features of Colby Hall include study rooms and mini-lounges on every floor. Phots by Amy Peterson

Colby residents also brag about their prime location on campus. “We’re right across from the football stadium. We’re right across from the BLUU. We’re very close to the Commons,” said Dana Nottingham, a junior political science major from Loveland, Colo., and second-floor resident assistant. “We’re right in the middle of everything, so when something is happening, we’ll know about it.”

While only 200 women requested the all-female dormitory, the hall director thinks more freshmen will choose it once Colby has made it through the first year.

“It’s definitely a privilege to be a part of reopening of Colby Hall,” Sepulveda said. “It’s a cool space and a welcoming community. We’re very grateful for it. I think more people are going to see it on tours later this year and as younger siblings come for visits. It’s going to become more popular.”

What’s next?

A rendering of the proposed Greek Village (in white) in Worth Hills campus. Image courtesy KSQ Architects

With Colby completed, the university now turns its attention to Worth Hills to construct a Greek Village with new houses for the 13 sororities and 12 fraternities, said Craig Allen, director of Housing and Residential Life.

The project has already begun with work on a 1,200-space parking garage in the southwest corner of Worth Hills. Brachman Hall  was razed in June to make room for the project. The garage is scheduled to open in August 2016.

After that, construction will start on sorority houses during the 2016-17 school year, with estimated completion by August 2017. The old sorority housing will be torn down and become the site of new fraternity houses, which will be built during the 2017-18 academic year. They are scheduled to open in August 2018.

Current Greek housing was built in the early 1960s after TCU purchased Goat Hills Golf Course’s 106 acres in 1961.

“We will have some of the nicest fraternity and sorority housing in the country,” Allen said. “The chapters are going to have the opportunity to personalize their meeting spaces and make them unique.”

TCU also has plans to build new apartment-style housing for non-Greek upperclassmen though designs for the project are not finalized. The timeline for that project, which would add 120 to 200 beds, is not set, Allen said. It may be saved until after the Greek Village is complete and constructed during the 2018-2019 school year, opening in August 2019.

When finished, the Greek Village would have a population of about 770. About 600 students currently live in  Greek chapter housing Worth Hills.