Parkview Hall opens to university community with ribbon-cutting ceremony


By Joel Delgado ’12 MS ’17

Parkview Hall is officially open for business.

In a ribbon-cutting ceremony on site, the university marked the commemorative opening of FIU’s newest residential hall in front of more than 150 attendees on Aug. 21. President Mark B. Rosenberg applauded the project as a success that involved the efforts and collaboration of many individuals and groups working together through many challenges.

“We make a lot of our efforts look easy, but this was hard work on the part of a lot of people,” Rosenberg said. “A lot of sweat equity went in to the thinking through and designing of this incredible state-of-the-art residence hall.”

Rosenberg also emphasized that this was not only a place where students would be housed, but a place that would be a “living, learning center” for the university community.

“It’s not just a residence hall,” he said. “It’s a social hall, an academic learning center, a gathering place… a place where we can build community, which is what will keep this incredible university intact and thriving.”

After the blue ribbon was cut in front of the doors of Parkview’s west entrance, attendees entered the new residential hall for a reception on the third floor lounge area – which features a 90-inch flat-screen television, a full view of FIU Stadium and plentiful seating areas.

Residential assistants also gave tours of the facility to give visitors a behind-the-scenes look at the various lounge areas, new bedrooms and amenities.

Jacquez Smiley, one of the first residential assistants to move into the building, is excited to see Parkview open its doors for the first time to the rest of the university community. He has lived in Parkview for close to a month while he and his colleagues on staff prepare for the influx of incoming residents getting ready to move in.

Parkview will be filled to capacity this semester when 620 students move into the facility on Friday, Aug. 23, just days before the fall semester begins.

“It was a special day,” Smiley said of the ceremony. “Parkview is definitely one of the best, if not the best, residential halls in the country and I’m looking forward to having the residents checking in to see for that for themselves.”

Moss & Associates, a family-owned construction management firm based in Fort Lauderdale, completed the $45-million project on time and under budget, which led to the construction of a multi-purpose room and a jogging track that runs around the Nature Preserve adjacent to Parkview.

Other features in Parkview include 15 community lounges, two study rooms and a parking garage with 300 parking spots for students living in university housing.

The Parkview Housing address is 1599 SW 113 Ave., Miami, FL, 33174.