Legacy Park becomes part of University of Louisiana life

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On-campus apartment complex houses about 470 students.

LOUISIANA La. — A year ago, rubble was piled where Javier Pinkney now calls home.

The freshman from New Orleans was one of the first to move into Legacy Park, University of Lousiaina’s on-campus apartment complex. The apartments can house up to about 470 students. They offer an alternative to dorm life.

Compared with Stokes, the dormitory where he lived before, Legacy Park is “a lot more comfortable,” Pinkney said.

“It’s nice to have a decent location to live and go to class. You have your meal plans. It’s the best of both worlds.” Pinkney said.

The eight new buildings dominate the site on the corner of East Lewis Street and Girard Park Drive. The corner was once the site of a men’s dormitory, McCullough Hall, which was built in the 1960s. In February, the building was imploded to make room for the complex. Down the street, another dormitory, Voorhies Hall, met the same fate to make way for a larger on-

campus day care center.

While the day-care center opened in August, construction delays prevented students from moving into their new homes as planned before the fall 2003 semester began. The first students moved into the apartments in September.

Today, four of the eight buildings are occupied, said Lisa Luquette Landry, UL housing director. Students waiting to move into their apartments were given the option of staying in an on-campus dorm until their rooms were ready. The project seemed drawn out, but in hindsight, a year has brought a lot of progress, Landry said.

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Marsha Sills
msills@theadvertiser.com