The University of Arizona joined partners Mortenson, Mortenson Development, and Collegiate Housing Foundation on July 14 to break ground on The Catalina, a new on-campus dorm that will create a vibrant living-learning community for students once it opens for fall 2028.
The new nine-story dorm will house more than 1,300 students and a dining hall and will align with student preferences for more suite-style units and access to programming and support services. The dorm will also support the U of A's expectation that first-year students live on campus beginning in fall 2026, which will apply to first-time, full-time students, with exceptions for students living within 30 miles of campus or facing specific circumstances or hardships.
"Success for every student is our North Star, and the connection between living on campus and graduating on time is undeniable," said President Suresh Garimella. "Our students who live on campus for at least one year have a 50% higher four-year graduation rate than those who never do. The Catalina is designed around that fact and what our Wildcats have told us they need."
Read more about the groundbreaking in this University of Arizona News story.