Students in buildings F, G, H, and J were given a two-month notice that their housing would be cleared to make way for a new medical facility.
Aniela Cabrera | Staff Writer
FIU University Apartments F, G, H, and J will be demolished over winter break and displace roughly half of the 537 resident population. In its place, a projected $160 – $212 million medical research facility will be built (sources offer varying totals).
Affected UA students received an official email from FIU Housing on Oct. 3, just one month into the semester.
The email said, “In January 2026, the university will start preparations for the construction of a $160 million medical building on land currently occupied by buildings F, G, H, and J. These buildings will be demolished during the spring semester.”
Rendering from a feature in the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine Magazine. Visioning study subject to change.
On-Campus students are too familiar with housing issues: limited rooms, mold, and difficult roommates. But discovering, just one month into the semester, that your building is being demolished is an entirely different new level of disruption.
Tiana Milton, an affected resident, said, “I’m not going to lie at first, I was very frustrated because they could have told us this beforehand…I had just, like, settled into my room, got comfortable and everything. (Housing) was like, ‘oh, by the way, you have to get out.’ I was frustrated, afraid, but at the very least, I’m glad to be moving.”
She mentioned how UA has had its share of issues, such as mold and a past stalker.
Emails obtained from residents highlight FIU Housing’s efforts to make the moving process run smoothly. Affected residents have selected their preferred housing and will be notified on Nov. 15 of their new assignments. Students will move in at the start of winter break and will be provided boxes and movers to assist with the transition, according to FIU housing.
“I was upset but, I’ll take it.” said Milton.
Elijah Tillman, an electrical engineering major who lives in building F, said, “They did say if you were gonna go off campus, they would cover that as well. But I simply signed up for on campus, and from the emails I’m getting, it seems like it’s guaranteed. I don’t know where they’re getting the housing from.”
Tillman believes in the upside of the situation and sees moving as a new experience for his spring semester.
Tillman said, “FIU already deals with limited housing, especially for upper-classmen and underclassmen. There have been times where there hasn’t really been this much clarity, but I guess in this major scenario, there has been clarity, which is good.”
The demolition ignites concern over the already limited housing at FIU. The incoming freshman class of 2029 was the largest in FIU history, adding more demand for limited housing.
To combat this, FIU announced the building of a new 815-bed facility that will break ground and is expected to open in 2 years.
FIU’s publicly available master plan presented that all UA buildings would be converted into a future medical research facility and resident housing. It appears that FIU is starting its first phase of the plan.
FIU’s process isn’t illegal in the state of Florida. The amount of notice given is generous for a demolition process. The state has landlord-tenant rules that differ by county and city, most of which require 30-60 day notices. Miami Beach, for example, only enforces a 10-day notice for demolitions.
No matter what residents decide for their future housing situation, FIU said, “Students moved to a different unit type will retain their current fall housing rate if moved to a unit with a higher rate. If the new unit has a lower rate, the spring bill will be updated to reflect the lower charge.”
“If your new assignment has a higher rate, FIU will provide a housing scholarship to cover the difference.”
As of now, there is no official information on the fate of the remaining buildings. According to the master plan, it is only a matter of time before they, too, are demolished.
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