EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. -- Some of the oldest student residence halls on the campus of East Stroudsburg University are about to get much-needed upgrades.
Two halls will soon close for renovations but university officials say it won't impact the amount of housing available for students on campus.
Max Winderman is a freshman at ESU. This semester, he requested to stay in one of the new suites on campus.
"I saw ones that are being renovated and I didn't want to stay in one of those ones. I requested a suite for my freshman year because I didn't want to be in an old one," Winderman said.
This fall, two those "old ones" will close for repairs -- Shawnee and Minsi Residence Halls. It's all part of an ongoing renovation project.
"Shawnee and Minsi are two of our older, older buildings and we are planning to take those offline and do renovations for the benefit of our students," said student affairs vice president Doreen Tobin.
Some students we spoke to say they think the renovations to the residence halls are a good thing because it might attract more students here to campus.
"I think it's good because we should get brand new things. It will make stuff better for the students," said freshman Eric Wharton.
Campus officials say the double closure won't impact the number of students they will be able to house on campus.
New suites and the reopening of Lenape Hall this fall will fill the gap.
"Shawnee was in the works beforehand and students knew they wouldn't be living in there for the coming year. We only had about 30 returning students signed up for Minsi Hall. They were contacted on Friday after our announcement so they would have first dibs on a new location before the new students coming in," Tobin explained.
Renovations to both residence halls could take up to two years.