{"id":416521,"date":"2026-10-02T07:34:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T07:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/416521\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T07:34:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T07:34:13","slug":"osprey-ridge-construction-brings-student-outdoor-spaces-resident-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/416521\/","title":{"rendered":"Osprey Ridge construction brings student outdoor spaces, resident concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"

The University of North Florida\u2019s year-old dorm, Osprey Ridge<\/a>, is undergoing renovations to add a concrete pathway that will give residents a new outdoor gathering space and connect the dorm to a future Honors Academic building, according to UNF Construction, Design and Planning director Christopher Wainwright. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The design for the project<\/a> features multiple outdoor gathering spaces, including swinging benches, hammocks, picnic benches and tables. The project will also include landscaping, with trees and other greenery surrounding the spaces and providing residents with additional privacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Residents will be able to step outside their dorm rooms and walk to the west side of the building where they can use the new spaces to sit, relax, and hang out while surrounded by nature. The project is designed to preserve the surrounding natural space and does not cross into the wetlands, Wainwright said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe respect the wetlands,\u201d said Wainwright.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Construction began in mid-September and is currently scheduled to end Jan. 4, just before residents return for spring semester classes, Wainwright said. Remaining funds from the original construction<\/a> of Osprey Ridge helped bring this project to life, with a total investment of $1.5 million.<\/p>\n

Residents\u2019 comments and concerns<\/p>\n

Osprey Ridge residents in the West Tower have expressed a range of reactions to the construction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some have said the construction produces disruptive noises, such as rumbling and consistent beeping. They have also described their rooms shaking while machinery is operating.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Others have expressed excitement about this new addition to their residence hall and said they do not mind the distractions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDid anybody even ask for this?\u201d said Ella Kon\u00e9, a resident on the first floor of the West Tower.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kon\u00e9 said she does not mind the rumbling because she is usually in class when construction is occurring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, Kon\u00e9 said she is concerned that residents were not notified about the construction in advance. She believes residents should be involved in conversations concerning construction that surrounds or affects their housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Robert Boyle, the Assistant Vice President of the Department of Housing and Residence Life, said the department did not want to notify the entire Osprey Ridge community while plans with the contractor were still being discussed.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Construction] started earlier than we wanted them to,\u201d Boyle said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After Osprey Ridge dorm completed construction under budget<\/a>, UNF officials said it had extra funds to add these new amenities for its student residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of the construction from Ridge finished up late last summer, and always with projects of that size, there\u2019s always a settling-in process. But from a larger project perspective, we had some money left over so what do we do?\u201d Boyle said.<\/p>\n

Gabriel Frey, another resident at Osprey Ridge who lives on the first floor in the West Tower, said he is excited to see what the construction will bring to the dorm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think watching a project from start to finish is cool,\u201d Frey said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wainwright said one of his priorities for this project is ensuring residents are not bothered during construction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Workers do not begin operating until around 9 a.m. and typically finish between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., maintaining reasonable working hours and halting construction on weekends, Wainwright said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wainwright said construction employees \u201cwork really hard\u201d to keep noise levels down and to make sure residents are comfortable while construction is occurring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Future Osprey Ridge construction<\/p>\n

In fall 2027, Osprey Ridge will experience additional construction behind the dorm as UNF prepares to build the Honors Academic building outlined in the UNF 2025-2035 Master Plan<\/a>, according to Wainwright.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This building will include classrooms and an open lobby space with a grab-and-go coffee restaurant. The lobby will be open to all students, not just honors students, according to Wainwright.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The beach volleyball court may have to be relocated to accommodate future construction projects, while the pickleball court will remain in the same area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat one is going to be a really nice project,\u201d Wainwright said. \u201cI\u2019m excited for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The University of North Florida\u2019s year-old dorm, Osprey Ridge, is undergoing renovations to add a concrete pathway that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416522,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-416521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/416522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}