The demolition of Barnes Campbell Hall began Wednesday morning to make way for the nearly completed, $48 million First Year Village project.

The demolition began at 9 a.m.

The First Year Village is expected to open this fall. According to WKU News, destruction of the dorm is expected to take 90 days.

In a Dec. 2, 2020 statement from WKU outlining the destruction plan, Mike Reagle, assistant vice president for Student Engagement, said the new residence area will feature a pod-style layout, where students will be in groups of 25 and share things such as restrooms, residence assistants and common areas.

“It is important to connect the time spent in the classroom with the 150 hours per week students spend outside of the classroom to ensure they take full advantage of the WKU experience,” Reagle said.

The dorm’s destruction was originally scheduled for summer 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic meant the building would be used as a quarantine dorm for on-campus students. 

For the Spring 2021 semester, students who contract COVID-19 will be in campus cottages and Bates-Runner Hall. 

According to a Dec. 2 statement from WKU, the destruction of the 54 year old dorm will usher in the final stages of the First Year Village project, a construction effort that includes two new dorms in the place of Barnes and Bemis-Lawrence Hall, which was demolished last summer. 

In the statement, Mike Reagle, assistant vice president for Student Engagement, said the new residence area will feature a pod-style layout, where students will be in groups of 25 and share things such as restrooms, residence assistants and common areas.

“It is important to connect the time spent in the classroom with the 150 hours per week students spend outside of the classroom to ensure they take full advantage of the WKU experience,” Reagle said.