To keep up with the increasing demand for on-campus student housing, which currently exceeds 122 percent, White Pine Hall was removed in February 2016 making room for Great Basin Hall. The new, STEM-themed hall will focus on academic success when it opens in 2018.

Great Basin Hall is designed to house approximately 430 students, anticipated to be 90 percent freshmen and 10 percent upperclassmen. The concept behind the new hall will be for informal mentoring to take place in an effort to continue to recruit and retain students in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.  The design of Great Basin Hall is intended to visually complement historic Lincoln Hall, which will reside directly to the east of the new building.  

Built in 1896, Lincoln Hall is one of the oldest buildings on campus and in Reno. To respond to the University's ability to meet the modern and evolving needs of a growing campus and address safety, while also continuing to preserve the building's legacy, renovations are underway at Lincoln Hall. Through this renovation, Lincoln Hall will undergo structural upgrades that address safety and seismic standards.  

Closed as a residence hall in May 2015, Lincoln Hall is being converted to an office building. In cooperation with the State Historical Preservation Office and a design agent who specializes in historic structures, upgrades in seismic, fire and safety, mechanical, plumbing, phone and data plus Americans with Disabilities Act access will be included in this project.  

"One of the most visible forms of momentum at the University continues to be the multiple construction projects taking place on campus," University President Marc Johnson said. "With the proliferation of new buildings comes an important opportunity for our campus, as we re-purpose existing space to meet our current needs."  

Lincoln Hall's renovation is scheduled for completion in summer 2016.