The Rodney Complex and the neighboring Dickinson Residence Hall Complex were both closed by the University in May 2015. The city of Newark began a contractual process to acquire it in 2017, and a city referendum passed in 2018.

After input from the public, elected officials and city staff, a final plan for the site was approved, and it will include a water retention basin with scenic overlooks, as well as a trail and a diversity of play areas interconnected for children of different ages, abilities and backgrounds. Construction of the park is scheduled from March through October 2020, with the park opening planned for November 2020. For more about the project, visit the city’s website.

The site originally opened as a residence hall complex in 1966, with six residential units housing a total of 785 students, as well as a central dining hall that could accommodate 1,500 students. When Rodney and Dickinson were closed in 2015, more than 500 UD alumni, including many Double Dels, bid farewell to the residence halls at a celebratory lunch as part of Alumni Weekend activities in June. They shared stories of their times in the buildings and also tied more than 100 notes filled with memories to a fence outside the complexes. 

From the Archives

Lisa Gensel, coordinator in University Archives and Records Management, gathered the images below that show the early days of the Rodney Residence Hall Complex.