USF pauses plan to demolish Tampa campus’ oldest dorms

Betty Castor Hall was among the dorms set to be demolished for the Argos redevelopment plan. ORACLE PHOTO/WILL RAINSBERGER

Students hoping for new dormitories on the USF Tampa campus will have to wait.

USF planned to renovate the Argos Center and replace Kosove Apartments, Beta Hall and Betty Castor Hall with around nine new dorm buildings.

These dorms are the oldest on the Tampa campus and have housed more than 54,000 students since the 1960s. 

However, the redevelopment plan is “currently on hold” as the focus shifts to the Fletcher Parcel Project, said Andrew Johnson, a Housing and Residential Education spokesperson. 

The project is a redevelopment of USF’s former golf course, The Claw. The aim is to convert the space into new housing, dining, recreation areas and other amenities, according to USF Administrative Services.

With an anticipated budget of $250 million, the Argos reconstruction was expected to begin in 2025, with the first dorm opening in 2027. 

However, with the hold in place, there is no set timeline for when construction will start, Johnson said.

Related: USF takes student input on possible projects for The Claw

Among one of the buildings that was to be demolished is Betty Castor Hall.

Kaylee Mercer, a freshman marketing major living in Betty Castor Hall, said it needs to be “torn down.”

“It’s not a very upperclassman-type building,” Mercer said. “The bathrooms here tend to always be broken and the common area is not the greatest.”

She said while there is nothing “inherently bad” about Betty Castor Hall, she is not planning to stay the following year. 

Castor is one of the most affordable dorms, with traditional double rooms costing $6,500 per academic year. 

“You get what you pay for,” Mercer said. 

Traditional double dorms in Beta also cost $6,500 per academic year, and single apartment dorms in Kosove Apartments cost around $10,000, according to the 2025-2026 Hall Rates.

The Argos Center redevelopment project was set to provide “attractive and affordable” housing. The rebuilding was projected to replace 910 beds with 2,100 new beds.

The project predicted a shortfall of 1,266 housing units for fall 2027, according to the 2024

proposal. Despite the delay, Johnson said these numbers are not anticipated to change.

About 7,200 students applied for the 6,400 beds at the Tampa campus in fall 2024.

Michaiah Barlett, a freshman electrical engineering major, said the redevelopment project is a “good” thing.

Barlett said he chose to live in Betty Castor Hall because it’s the “most affordable option,” but he plans to find different housing in the future.

“Castor has a scent that everyone notices, mainly because of the rug,” Bartlett said. “You can tell it’s an older building.”

Related: New USF residential hall at the Sarasota-Manatee campus to open in August

Johnson said the hold on the Argos renovation will have “very little impact” on long-term housing goals. 

While students await new dorms, Mercer said the current buildings offer residents the chance to build relationships. She said she likes the “community” in Betty Castor Hall.

“When you tell people you’re from Castor, it’s kind of like an inside joke,” Mercer said. “I’ve met a lot of people in my hall. The people here are cool.”