For the first time since 2002, Northwestern has a new residence hall.

Construction has concluded on 560 Lincoln, a seven-story building located off Lincoln Avenue at the far north end of campus, after a nearly two-year-long process. It’s the University’s first new residential building since Slivka Residential College was completed 15 years ago.

The building now awaits as many as 422 residents at next month’s move-in, a group that will be roughly split 50-50 between returning and first-year students, said Jennifer Luttig-Komrosky, Northwestern’s executive director of residential services.

The majority of 560 Lincoln’s residences are suite-style, a distinction previously claimed only by Kemper Hall, a predominantly upperclassman residence hall. Some 560 Lincoln suites will have views of Lake Michigan, Luttig-Komrosky said.

“There’s a lot of different reasons that students are certainly attracted to (the lake),” Luttig-Komrosky said. “The calm, the continued evolution of the weather, how Lake Michigan connects with the four seasons living here in the Midwest. I really think they’ll enjoy seeing some of those changes either outside of their residential room window or some of the community lounges.”

The residence hall also contains two academic classrooms, which will host class discussion sections, and numerous two-story study lounges, which are accessible from multiple floors and traversable through staircases within the lounges, Luttig-Komrosky said.

Other special features of 560 Lincoln include a welcome fireplace, a basement multi-purpose room, an indoor bike storage room and an inside courtyard, Luttig-Komrosky said.

The residence hall’s completion checks off the first step in the University’s Housing Master Plan, which will now turn toward replacing four existing buildings — Bobb Hall, McCulloch Hall, Sargent Hall and 1835 Hinman. 560 Lincoln immediately becomes the second-largest residential building on campus.

Although built primarily to make possible the University’s new two-year residency requirement, which applies to incoming students starting this fall, the option of a brand-new residence hall has attracted interest from returning students, as well.

Henry Raeder, a Weinberg sophomore who will live in 560 Lincoln this coming academic year, said he’s looking forward to the hall’s proximity to his biology classes and hoping for a lake view.

Evan Denton, a Medill junior and another incoming resident, said he’s excited to upgrade from his previous residence halls and to experience North Campus living for the first time.

Luttig-Komrosky said she hopes 560 Lincoln will offer perks that set it apart from existing residence halls while also fitting seamlessly into the University’s on-campus residential system.

“I think all of (560 Lincoln’s) amenities go above and beyond welcoming students to campus,” she said. “We would hope that all of our residence halls really have a core program of community, getting students together, getting them to know each other and really supporting their academic experience.”

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