IMMEDIATE SEPTEMBER 23, 2004

TOWN HALL AT ABAC NAMED FOR FORMER TIFTON REGENT HUNT

TIFTON---Paying homage to the tremendous influence a former member of the Board of Regents had on the decision to build the $32 million ABAC Place apartments on the campus of Abraham Baldwin College, University System of Georgia Chancellor Thomas Meredith announced today the naming of the activities center at the ABAC Place apartments, the John Hunt Town Hall Center.

“The term legacy is used to describe the impact an individual has during a lifetime,” Meredith said at the ceremony to officially open the entire 14-acre complex which includes private rooms for 835 ABAC students. “In this case, the strong advocate for the construction of this new privatized ABAC housing development was John Hunt.”

Hunt is a 1960 ABAC alumnus who began his career in the automobile business. He later became a successful entrepreneur in real estate, advertising, and the restaurant business. He served on the Stone Mountain Authority for 17 years and was appointed to the Board of Regents in 1997.

Before he passed away last year, Hunt, in his position as chair of the Regents’ Committee on Real Estate and Facilities, oversaw the construction of more than one billion dollars worth of new and renovated facilities at the USG’s 34 public colleges and universities.

Hunt’s wife, Julie Ewing Hunt, completed his term on the Regents and then was appointed to a term of her own by Governor Sonny Perdue. She expressed appreciation for the naming of the 10,000 square foot Town Hall in memory of her late husband.

ABAC opened the first phase of the apartments on Jan. 8 when 200 students moved in from Chandler Hall, which had to be demolished to make way for the remainder of the project. When classes began for the fall term on Aug. 23, all 835 rooms were filled.

Interim President Tom Call said over 100 other students had to find housing elsewhere when the apartments filled up. Some of those are on campus in Comer Hall. Call said those students will move into ABAC Place when space becomes available.

The ABAC Foundation supported the mammoth project, which was built without the use of state funds. Foundation President Melvin Merrill said it is the largest housing project of its kind at a two-year college in the United States.

Most of the units at ABAC Place are four-bedroom, two-bath. Each student has a private room complete with a double bed, desk, chair, ceiling fan, chest of drawers, extra storage space underneath the bed, a closet, and connections to the internet and cable television.

Each apartment has a fully furnished kitchen and living area. All utilities are covered in the rent, which ranges from $345 to $360 per month on a one-year lease.

The John Hunt Town Hall Center includes an exercise room, a computer room, a meeting room, a big screen television, a game room, a kitchen, restrooms, offices, and a convenience store. A white sand volleyball court is located next to the Town Hall. Students also have access to barbecue grills and a gazebo in the center of ABAC Place.

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