St. Cloud State Closing Down Sherburne Residence Hall

A long-time dorm at St. Cloud State University will be shutting down at the end of the semester.

Sherburne Hall was built in the 1960s and held as many as 550 students in its prime, but Residential Life Executive Director Jennifer Sell Matzke says the 13-story building has not been at full capacity for some time.

We have had multiple communities that have not been operating at full capacity on campus, so taking Sherburne Hall offline as we plan to do at the end of this semester will allow us to provide a more robust community experience for students living on campus and then also allow us to reduce our operating costs by consolidating residents into our other residence halls.

She says the 50 students who had signed up to live in the hall in the fall have multiple options.

We have actually been able to accommodate those students in other residence halls, primarily in Stearns Hall. Students have been very pleased with that option because it is a more affordable option for them. All of those students have been able to either elect to move to Stearns or an alternate location on campus or if they don't want to do that we have allowed them to cancel their housing contract with no financial obligation.

She also says Garvey Commons, which is attached to the residence hall, will be under renovation this summer, but there are no plans to close that building.

The university is currently exploring their options, but do not yet have a plan in place for Sherburne moving forward.