Published: September 2016
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On Thursday and Friday, August 25 and 26, Thomas More Apartments, the recently completed residence hall at 2150 Commonwealth Avenue (formerly the site of More Hall), welcomed its first residents. The five-story, 240,000-square-foot structure houses 490 students in four- and six-person apartments throughout three wings, and it is the University’s second largest residence in square-footage, after the revamped Reservoir Apartments at 2000 Commonwealth Avenue. The building contains three music practice rooms, 13 study rooms, and five open lounges. University Health Services is located on the ground floor of the south wing. Photographs by Lee Pellegrini.
Peter Dawson ’17 and his mother, Adriene, from Stamford, Connecticut, in the queue along Commonwealth Avenue, the principal staging point for moving into the building, on August 26.
Catherine Malcynsky ’17 (left) and her parents Jay and Joni, from Chester, Connecticut. The Residence Hall Association provided the red moving carts (for 30-minute intervals).
The Commonwealth Avenue entrance. Construction of the five-story, brick- and stone-clad building began in May 2014. Its completion coincided with the demolition on Lower Campus of Edmond’s Hall, a 790-bed residence dating to 1975. A new recreation complex is planned for the Edmond’s site.
Pawtucket, Rhode Island, native Emily Correia ’17 (foreground) and her sister Stephanie looked on as their father, Americo, retrieved items from the recesses of his truck.
Brittney Bentivegna ’17 (right) and her mother, Wendy, of Southport, Connecticut. The residence hall sits just across the town line from Newton, in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston. Members of the Boston Police Department were assigned to keep traffic flowing.
After a 17-hour drive from Chicago, Andrew Kelley ’17 and his father, Steve, made the final push to a waiting four-man apartment.
Fresh arrivals checked in with undergraduate resident assistants in the main lobby. The Commonwealth Avenue entrance can be seen just beyond the array of sofas and armchairs at right. St. Thomas More Drive and a courtyard facing Lower Campus are to the left.
Resident assistants signed in Christine Rotondo ’17, who was joined by Isabella Rosales ’17 (in Celtics jersey).
The Commonwealth Avenue entrance and adjacent seating areas, as seen from a second-floor lounge. High ceilings and glass walls in many of the public spaces give the building an airy feel.
As second-year law student Cusaj Thomas ’15, one of 10 resident assistants, looked on, James Hunker ’17 (left) and Alex Joyce ’17 lugged an extra sofa for their fourth-floor, four-person apartment. The common room in every apartment comes furnished with a sofa, two armchairs, a coffee table, and a dining table and chairs.
Victoria Mulkern ’18 and her mother, Diane, of Milton, Massachusetts, passed the Athletics Department’s Pom Squad practicing in a first-floor seminar room. The building also contains a 1,373-square-foot meeting room with catering and AV facilities.
Bridget Nolan ’17, of Winchester, Massachusetts, moved into her fourth-floor apartment with the help of her parents, Brendan Nolan ’85 and Susan Santonelli. The view out the window extends over the central courtyard toward Lower Campus.
Dominic Hardaway ’19, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, unpacked in his four-person apartment. In addition to the desk provided to each student, there are two or more study rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows on every level.
Elsie Guevara ’17 (red shirt) in her six-person apartment, assisted by her cousin Natalie. All apartments have a full kitchen.
A first-floor corridor in the building’s north wing. The central courtyard is visible in the background.
The lobby as seen from the Commonwealth Avenue doorway, with a second-floor lounge visible above. This shot was taken just before 4:00 p.m., when most residents had arrived and were settling into their new rooms.
The central courtyard and north wing of the building (left), photographed from St. Thomas More Drive.