Whether you are a newly enrolled freshman or a super senior, Browning is a solid choice for living and saving money on tuition, along with its sister building, Ellington.

With the demolition of Browning, however, its residents are being forced to move out as they scramble for other housing options.

The demolition of Browning Hall, scheduled for summer 2026, will result in the displacement of hundreds of University of Tennessee at Martin residents. The campus is also growing exponentially, with a 7.9% increase in UT Martin enrollment from the previous year, which will put considerably more stress on Browning residents trying to apply for new housing.

The Office of Residence Life and Housing is developing a solution by proposing double-occupancy rooms on the first floor of Arnold Pryor Place and in the private rooms of Ellington, as well as offering off-campus alternative housing.

Unfortunately, the rent for Arnold Pryor Place—although it will be cheaper than the original $3,854 with suitemates—is not expected to be lowered to the price relative to sharing a room in Browning or Ellington with a roommate at $1,827. The cheapest option for housing would be to split the rent between three suitemates in a three-bedroom apartment at University Courts. Private rooms will also be highly competitive.

“In the long term, it’s gonna be helpful because they’re gonna have more housing whenever they rebuild it,” said Draco Clark, a computer engineering major and one of the Browning residents, “In the short term, they’re losing 352 rooms, give or take, and that’s probably gonna bump up the price of campus living because of the rise in demand, rise in cost.”

As for his housing plans next year, Clark said, “I submitted my application for on-campus for Ellington. That’s just a backup though because I found some off-campus housing. We got a couple of friends who are gonna be doing that with me. It’s gonna cost about 360 bucks a month per person, so technically cheaper than Browning, but it is 12 months instead of just for the semester.”

“It’s kind of been a rumored thing since we got here. I’ve been here for about one and a half semesters now,” said Olivia Wardlaw, a veterinary technology major and Browning resident. “I’d have to say it’s definitely for the best. I’ve heard from several people that they’ve been finding cockroaches in their dorms and leaks. The last room I was in leaked so badly, and they never fixed it. I think it was probably because they knew they were gonna be tearing it down.”

As for her housing plans next year, she said, “I’m not sure. I think I applied to Ellington next semester, but with the way housing is gonna be, I don’t know if I’m gonna be.”