On-campus residential facilities provide a core component of the undergraduate experience for Emory students. This fall, with the opening of the newly refurbished Clifton Tower, they will have a new residence option.
“Renovations on Clifton Tower will be completed by mid-August,” says Elaine Turner, senior director of Housing Operations in Campus Life. “Students will be able to apply for a room there through the upcoming housing selection process.”
Clifton Tower will be an option for rising sophomores from Emory College and rising juniors who completed their first two years on Emory’s Oxford College campus, giving Oxford graduates an opportunity to experience community living on the Druid Hills campus.
Emory acquired Clifton Tower, a former Howard Johnson hotel located on Clifton Road at Gatewood Road, in 1979. The university converted it into a residence hall for graduate students and, during the 1990s, began housing undergraduates there. Clifton Tower, which never had a major upgrade, was closed in May 2014.
Today, Clifton Tower is back in demand. The modernized facility will have 146 beds and blend the best features of residence hall and apartment-style living.
“The biggest change is that we combined rooms into suites that can accommodate four or six students,” Turner says. “We opened up rooms to create more living space and will upgrade the windows, doors, flooring, bathrooms and kitchenettes.”
Clifton Tower residents will have some dedicated parking and some floors will have entrances from an outside balcony to fully furnished suite-style units. The building also has a community kitchen, conference room, private study rooms, laundry rooms, and recycling and composting areas, as well as outdoor green space.
“Students at Clifton Tower will have access to residential life programming and dining services at Woodruff Residential Center, which is right across the street,” says Scott Rausch, senior director of Residence Life in Campus Life. “Clifton will have five residence advisers who partner with the RAs at Woodruff to serve both buildings.”
In addition to the proximity to classes and on-campus activities, Rausch added, “Students will find the same amenities they have been used to in other residence halls.”
Campus Services, which oversees planning, design and construction for the university, including facilities construction, is working closely with Campus Life to provide management of design and construction for the Clifton Tower project.
“Campus Services is excited to help expand on-campus of residential options for Emory students,” says Stuart Adler, director of program management. “We appreciate the vital role of residential space in the student experience.”