Spelman College secures financing to build residence hall

Addition of the 670-bed facility will enable about two-thirds of the college's students to live on the Atlanta campus.

Aug. 27, 2025

Key Highlights

Spelman College will build a 670-bed residence hall to accommodate more students on campus.
The college has secured up to $140 million in bond financing.
Existing housing from the 1960s will be demolished to make way for modern student housing.

Spelman College in Atlanta has cleared a hurdle to finance its first new residence hall in nearly two decades.

The historically Black college received approval from a Fulton County, Georgia, board to access federal bond financing to build a new 670-bed residence hall.

"This is our first new residential hall in several years," Dawn Alston, vice president for business and financial affairs at Spelman College, told the Development Authority of Fulton County board.

Spelman would like to house more students on its Atlanta campus and phase out aging residence halls that lack air conditioning. The new beds will enable roughly two-thirds of the student body to live on campus.

Spelman will have access to up to $140 million in bond financing to build the housing. To construct the residence hall, Spelman will demolish Howard-Harreld Hall and Dorothy Shepard Manley Hall, both of which were built in the 1960s.

About the Author

Mike Kennedy

Senior Editor

Mike Kennedy has been writing about education for American School & University since 1999. He also has reported on schools and other topics for The Chicago Tribune, The Kansas City Star, The Kansas City Times and City News Bureau of Chicago. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.