1,000 new student beds set for USC campus. Construction will close a street
The University of South Carolina will soon add more than 1,000 beds to house an ever-growing student body.
USC will build a 900-bed residence hall at Sumter and Blossom streets in Columbia, behind Thomas Cooper Library. It will also expand the neighboring Honors College, adding a third wing with an additional 190 beds.
The number of new beds is four times higher than what is currently available in that area. A request for an initial design in 2024 had proposed raising the bed count by only 640.
The board of trustees approved $185 million for the projects on Friday, which will be funded through housing revenue bonds. Plans were recently approved by the Columbia Planning Commission.
It will be a “logistically-difficult” project, university architect Derek Gruner said Friday.
The university will close Sumter Street to vehicular and foot traffic from Blossom Street to Devine Street — and perhaps Greene Street — during construction, Gruner said. That will keep students out of the area and give contractors more room.
USC is not required to build any additional parking structures, Gruner said. Remote parking in an existing lot on Gadsden and Greene streets will be reserved for residents of the new buildings, according to documents submitted to the planning commission.
“It is the goal of the University to collaborate with the city to develop a plan for Sumter between Greene and Blossom to be primarily pedestrian in nature after completion of construction,” one document read.
Construction is expected to be complete in 2028.
The new housing will replace the aged McBryde Quadrangle, a residence hall with a mere 260 beds. McBryde is scheduled to be demolished in spring 2026.
McBryde Hall was constructed in 1955 and named for former USC President John M. McBryde, according to university archives, serving as fraternity housing and known at one time as “Fraternity Row.”
This story was originally published August 27, 2025 at 1:21 PM.
