Another one bites the dust: Gibbs is latest dorm to be torn down

Gibbs Hall is eight FAMU residence hall 
 torn down in five years.

FAMU began demolition of Gibbs Hall dormitory which was named after university co-founder State Rep. Thomas Van Renssalaer Gibbs.  The dorm opened in 1955 and in its heyday housed about 305 male students.  

The dorm was last renovated in 1989, but suffered some structural damage in 2019 due to a water leak which closed its basement and first floors for a while.  The building underwent $3 million in repairs to correct the damage. Soon afterwards, the dorm was "decommissioned" and recommended for demolition.  

The university claimed at the time that the building needed more than $31 million in repairs to modernize it to today's housing standards.  

Gibbs is the sixth FAMU residence hall to be demolished following Diamond, McGuinn, Cropper, Wheatley, Truth and Paddyfote in the past five years.  Palmetto North  Apartment complex also met the wrecking ball earlier this year. 

When Truth was torn down FAMU VP for Student Affairs William Hudson, said that commemorative bricks from the dorm would be sold through the FAMU Foundation, however, no one has seen those bricks since.

In April, the university announced plans to construct 2,000 new beds of campus housing (via three new residence halls) by 2026 at a cost of  nearly $240 million.

Morgan State preserves it ‘legacy dorms’

While FAMU has made the strategic decision to tear down its older dorms, Morgan State has begun to totally renovate two legacy residential halls during the 2023-24 academic year. As soon as students move out of Baldwin and Cummings Halls.

“These are post-World War II facilities (1950s),” said Sidney Evans, Jr., executive vice president for finance and administration at the school. “They are just not conducive for the 21st century."  The traditional stone facade of the two residence halls will remain in place while the insides will be gutted, he said.

The plan is to conduct all this work between May 2023 and July 2024, which means both buildings will be completely off-line for a period of at least 14 months. The goal is to have both ready and available for occupancy again in Fall 2024.”

In the past four years, Morgan has added 1,700 new beds of student housing and two new residence halls at a cost of nearly $200 million.