Centennial Village Phase Two welcomed its first residents this fall, adding three more residential colleges to the University of Miami’s newest housing community for first-year students.
Vista, Biscayne and Grove opened two years after Coral and Ibis, bringing Centennial Village to a total of 2,025 beds across its five Residential Colleges.
According to Housing and Residential Life, Vista is the smallest of the new buildings, housing about 270 students compared to the 450–500 in Biscayne and Grove.
Tiffany Idol, the director of Residence Life, took The Hurricane on a tour of the new Centennial buildings. She explained that the three buildings each have distinct color identities — aqua, orange and green — as part of a branding system created for all Centennial Village residential colleges. Most lobbies feature accents of their designated color.
The new buildings offer students a variety of amenities, including community spaces, study rooms, recreational areas, a meditation room and a sky bridge. These shared spaces have made meeting people easy, and residents think they are one of the best parts of living in Centennial Village.
“Everyone is so happy to be living in these brand-new residential colleges,” Idol said. “What’s great now is that all of the first-year students are on the same side of campus, so they can easily meet others and make new friends.”
Resident Assistant Ty Raimann has watched the community develop during the first month of the semester.
“I love how everyone on our floor hangs out together in the common areas and in each other’s rooms,” Raimann said.
Students echoed that experience.
“I put a whiteboard on my door with questions for people on the floor to answer,” said Aubrey Levitan, a first-year student living in Grove. “It’s been a great way to spark conversations, get to know my neighbors and help new friendships form quickly.”
Levitan also highlighted the convenience of late-night dining and her appreciation for Ronda Holmes, a dining hall worker who has become a familiar face in the Centennial Village dining hall.
“Ronda makes my day every day when she says ‘welcome beautiful’ every time I walk into the dining hall,” said Emma Lisiecki, a first-year student. “She also featured me in one of her TikToks (@rondaholmes1) at late night dining which was really cool.”
While students have praised the social atmosphere and modern facilities, living in the brand-new buildings has also come with some growing pains.
Residents have expressed concerns about Wi-Fi connectivity in the buildings.
“The glitchy WiFi makes it hard to join my Zoom class and call my family back home,” said Andrea Ricabal, a student living in Grove.
Beyond technology issues, students have also noted challenges with maintaining cleanliness in the dorms’ shared spaces.
“The communal bathrooms can definitely get messy,” said Alesa Kastle, a freshman living in Biscayne. “There’s often water and hair on the floor and sinks, so that’s probably been one of the less enjoyable parts of adjusting to dorm life.”
Biscayne is the only building with resident rooms on its second floor and the rest of floors 1–2 across Centennial Village are communal spaces, which may contribute to heavier shared-bathroom use.
Despite these frustrations, many students say the experience has been positive overall, particularly because of the friendships they have formed with other residents.
“I’ve made so many new friends on my floor,” said Parker Walley, a student living in Biscayne. “I definitely got homesick during my first few weeks at school, but the people on the fifth floor have really made it feel like home.”
Only weeks into the semester, the newest Centennial Village buildings are still finding their rhythm. But, for the first group of residents to call them home, the halls are already becoming an important part of their experience at UM.