The $21 million renovations of the New South residence hall entered a new phase yesterday as months of construction came to a close with the opening of the building’s brand-new lobby and courtyard.

The new entrance to New South has moved from its old location across from Village A to the former cafeteria’s loading dock near O’Donovan Dining Hall. The lobby now houses the relocated residence hall office, new elevators and an electronic security system requiring all freshmen to swipe their GOCards to gain further access to the building.

“This is a more convenient entrance now for students coming from O’Donovan Hall and the rest of the campus,” Karen Frank, vice president for facilities and student housing, said. “And it looks much better too.”

Frank also said that the facilities department has worked to develop a handicapped-accessible landscaped pathway that leads up to the new entrance.

“This pathway will eventually include brick, numerous benches and bike racks,” she said.

Now that the new lobby is completed, construction will soon begin on a computer lab with printers and workstations in the former New South entryway.

“The old entrance will no longer be a main entrance. We are going to build a wall to separate off the old entrance from the new computer lab that will be primarily for New South students,” Frank said. She is expecting the lab to be completed as soon as early December.

Georgetown will have an official ceremony to rededicate New South on Nov. 8. University President John J. DeGioia, who served as a hall director in New South, will speak.

“Seeing that he previously lived in New South, I’m sure he will have some memorable stories to tell,” Frank said.

Some freshmen expressed excitement at the location and look of the new lobby.

“People are happy not to have to climb the hill anymore, and the elevators are a plus as well,” Jeff Hadzima (COL ’08) said. “I like the look of the lobby from the outside. It looks very modern.”

Danielle Villalovos (COL ’08), however, said he was displeased with new problems, including elevator delays, created by the lobby.

“The elevators take so much longer to get from one floor to the next, and then have to stop on every floor to pick up people,” Villalovos said. “Taking the stairs is an option, but as New South was built on a hill, I have about seven flights of stairs, not just four, to walk up.”

The next phase of the New South construction project will be the renovation of the former dining hall and kitchen into a new student center. A start time for those projects has not yet been announced, according to university spokeswoman Laura Cavender.

“We still need to raise the appropriate funds for the student center,” Frank said.