On September 27, the university officially dedicated University Square, a 13-story, $51 million residence hall - the first new housing on the Newark campus in 16 years. The 600-bed facility for undergraduate and graduate students and law students doubles the school’s dorm  capacity.

The L-shaped building wraps around the corner of Central and University avenues, and its red-brick face, alternating with rows of windows, blends in with the historic aspects of the neighborhood. University Square is adjacent to the campus's Talbott Apartments, which houses graduate students, and Woodward Hall, an undergraduate residence hall and dining facility. A landscaped courtyard with outdoor seating connects the new building and the existing residence halls.

University Square residents live in two- and three-bedroom apartments with kitchens and private baths, and the first floor soon will feature a convenience store and a Subway sandwich store. A ground-floor includes a multipurpose room with theater-style seating for 130 people as well as a laundry room, outfitted with 18 washers and 18 driers.  

The new residence hall alleviates the overcrowding that had forced the campus to place some students in the Robert Treat Hotel in downtown Newark and others in residence halls at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. University Square increases the number of Rutgers students living on campus in Newark to about 1,200 out of a total student population of more than 10,000.