The Start Of A New Era
Lynn University’s Capstone Apartments officially open
By Gretchen Lembcke-Pena, Editor-in-Chief
On Sept. 22, Lynn University’s newest residence building, the Capstone Apartments, held its grand opening.
Students were approved for move-in on Aug. 20, and the final touches — including the main gate, landscaping and installing the signage — were recently completed.
At 5 p.m on Thursday, Sept. 22, students gathered in the courtyard of the building, where a DJ, an air hockey table and food awaited them. President Kevin Ross delivered a speech addressing all aspects of the construction and development of the university’s newest housing option.
According to President Ross:
“This [residence] hall is also a little different for us. This is the first to be built through a public-private partnership. We did that with a national student housing developer, Capstone Development Partners. Additionally, this is the first time that Lynn has ever worked with a third-party management [company] … Capstone Apartments supports the university’s environmental sustainability efforts. This was constructed through locally sourced materials.”
Other members who participated in the effort delivered remarks, as well, like Capstone Development Partners’ Chief Development Officer William Davis. Playing a pivotal role in the project, Davis Provided insight into the difficulty of the process and how it progressed:
“On behalf of all of Capstone on our team, I’m honored to be here with you today to celebrate this grand opening. I’m going to be honest, it took a lot, but we are very, very pleased to be here. I wish that people could have seen this place six weeks ago, eight weeks ago, 12 weeks ago … it took a monumental effort by all involved.”
After learning more about the Capstone project, the Lynn community was eager to know what living in Capstone has been like for the past month. Ashley Inoa, a senior and resident assistant at Capstone, delved into her experience:
“Building community is something that Lynn University has been passionate about since their beginnings both locally and abroad. We would not be here without the vision of the staff who have been working so long on creating not only this residence hall, but a space where we can build a community. What makes living on campus so unique is that there is not a lot of places where you can meet such a diverse group of people all in one place. Whether it’s culturally, socially or geographically, you are all part of the Lynn community when living in the residence halls.”
When the speeches concluded, guests of the grand opening relocated to the building’s lobby to indulge in foods like hot dogs and nachos and enjoy air hockey games, a photo booth and a free Lynn kitchen towel for all residents present at the event.
