Oxford College hopes to build a new dorm on its campus to replace the Jolley Residential Center (JRC), which Emory constructed in 1955. At a City of Oxford, Ga., public hearing on Nov. 17, Emory University Landscape Architect James Johnson shared an updated timeline for the project and added that the college has requested a formal permit to complete construction. The new dorm’s development follows student complaints of mold in 2024.
When the University first announced the new dorm in 2024, Vice President for Campus Services and Chief Planning Officer Robin Morey said the construction would be completed by 2026. During the meeting, Johnson discussed the project’s timeline, which differed from Morey’s original statement.
“We are likely a year away from construction and two years to occupancy,” Johnson said. “The JRC would not come down until 2029 at the earliest.”
At Monday’s public hearing, Johnson presented Oxford’s development plan to Oxford Mayor David Eady and other council members. The plan includes building a four-story dorm in the current Haygood Hall parking lot. Once the new dorm construction is complete, the plan calls for the demolition of the JRC. As it stands, the JRC is 87,000 square feet, while the new building is to be 99,800 square feet, according to Johnson.
The plan also includes converting the JRC area into a green recreational space, creating additional parking spaces between Moore Street and Stone Street and demolishing Dooley’s Tavern with a plan to rebuild it in the basement of the new residential hall.
Kelly Zhang (27Ox) shared that she was excited to see new construction plans for replacing the JRC.
“A lot of my friends they live in JRC and they’re always complaining. … Sometimes the AC doesn’t work, and there’s not enough washers or dryers, compared to the other newer buildings,” Zhang said. “Adding a new residential hall will make the school a bit more modern.”
During the hearing, Emory’s construction team requested two zoning rule variances that the City of Oxford required for the current construction plan. One of which calls on the city to make an exception to a rule limiting buildings to three stories.
“We need the height variance because the northern wing of the building sits within the institutional campus transitional area,” Johnson said.
The team’s second variance requested the city to grant another exception to reduce the stream buffer along the construction perimeter. A stream buffer is an area of undeveloped land next to a stream that mitigates environmental damage from runoff. Johnson proposed changing the 25-foot buffer zone to 18 feet. The college’s current aim for a stream buffer is to act as a filter for nearby Turkey Creek.
Many council members expressed concern about the request to reduce the stream buffer, as additional parking spaces would increase runoff, worsening pollution and erosion in the area. Council members were also worried that approving these exceptions for Oxford College would put them under pressure to approve similar variances in the future.
However, Senior Project Manager at Eberly and Associates Antonio Sample, a contractor working on the project, explained that he did a hydrology study that indicated the construction would have a net positive environmental impact.
“Our study shows that we’ll be able to meet or exceed your stormwater ordinance,” Sample said. “We are going above that by providing fire retention areas and forms of green infrastructure to collect surface runoff.”
The city council will take a formal vote on Dec. 8 at 7:00 p.m. Paawan Patel (26Ox) mentioned the importance of maintaining the balance between student and community priorities.
“I hope they are ultimately able to build this new building, but with minimal impact on the outside community,” Patel said.
