UND Wilkerson Quad Grand Opening Celebration is Friday, Oct. 6

Ribbon-cutting, remarks and tours to celebrate new era of UND campus housing

What: Grand Opening for UND’s Wilkerson Quad, including self-guided tours of the renovated space

Who: Guest speakers include UND President Andrew Armacost; Art Malloy, vice president for student affairs; Troy Noeldner, director of housing & residence life; Charles McGinnis, senior executive, Johnson Controls International; and Amanda Perez, former president of UND Association of Residence Halls

Where: Wilkerson Commons – Landing Zone, 3450 University Ave., Grand Forks

When: 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6; self-guided tours of halls from 4 to 5 p.m.

Parking: Free parking is available at the Chester Fritz Auditorium in A/S lots

The University of North Dakota will be hosting a grand opening ceremony and residence hall tours in celebration of its new Wilkerson Quad starting at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6, during Homecoming Week 2023.

Guest speakers for the ribbon cutting ceremony will include UND administrators and student leaders. Self-guided tours of UND’s newest residence halls and “Landing Zone” entryway and lounge will be available starting at 4 p.m., immediately following the ceremony.

Cookies and refreshments will be served alongside yard games in quad.

“This grand opening celebration marks the completion of several years of hard work to improve campus housing,” said Troy Noeldner, UND director of housing & residence life. “Our vision was to create facilities that support a vibrant and engaging housing experience for our students, and we’re so excited for people to see how this project is but one piece of many wonderful improvements made across campus.

“I think that people who see the quad and Landing Zone for the first time will be amazed at how the area around these buildings has transformed.”

The Wilkerson Quad is the outdoor space central to the recently renovated Brannon Hall and fully rebuilt McVey and West halls, the latter of which was recently reopened to students. The new green space also features a patio, fireplace and spots for rentable hammocks.

Just off the quad is the Landing Zone, an indoor lounge and connection to the Wilkerson Commons & Dining Center and overall Wilkerson Complex, which itself is connected by new, indoor walkways replacing the underground tunnels of old. The Landing Zone boasts plenty of seating, televisions and games such as air hockey and foosball.

The Wilkerson Complex, comprised of Brannon, McVey, West, Noren and Selke halls, can house around 1,700 students – the near equivalent of UND’s first-year student population. Brannon, McVey and West were all reopened for student occupation in the past year.

“Our future is bright, and we are delighted to share this new chapter with the UND community,” Noeldner said.

The project was led by Johnson Controls International, which formed a team of local contractors, architects and designers, including: Community Contractors; Construction Engineers; ICON Architectural Group; Custom Aire; CMTA; Lunseth Plumbing; RBB Electric; Florian’s Excavating; Bergstrom Electric; Nova Fire Protection; Robert Gibb and Sons; and OPP Construction.