The University of Tennessee is preparing to demolish three residence halls — North Carrick Hall, South Carrick Hall and Reese Hall — after the state building commission approved a $253 million public-private partnership to replace the nearly 60-year-old dorms with modern student housing and new academic space, a report from WATE 6 News shows.
The project is currently in the design phase. The university will complete preparation work inside the existing halls before demolition begins, with construction expected to be completed in phases in fall 2028 and fall 2029. The new buildings will add living space for more than 1,300 students, on top of UT’s existing on-campus housing capacity of 9,166 students as of fall 2025.
The replacement plan comes as UT Knoxville’s enrollment surpassed a record 40,000 students in fall 2025. A separate housing project already underway, Torchbearer Hall, is expected to open in fall 2026 and house more than 1,000 students.
UT senior Grace Claerbout, who lived in one of the dorms no longer available to freshmen, said the change will be a welcome upgrade for incoming students moving into the new buildings. Fellow senior Dominic Crowe said the campus has grown substantially during his three and a half years at UT and that new dorms would help incoming freshman classes settle in. Student Zach Brewster said he has watched the campus expand every semester and that new housing means students will not have to live with the wear and deterioration found in some older buildings. Anna Pinkston, a rising high school senior from Virginia touring UT as a prospective freshman, said she was excited about the possibility of living in one of the new dorms.
Why it matters for Knoxville: The $253 million project is one of the largest housing investments in UT Knoxville’s history and signals the university is committing to major campus construction through the end of the decade as record enrollment strains existing dorm capacity.